apophatic
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
apophatic
- /apə(ʊ)ˈfatɪk/ UK
Where it comes from
From Ancient Greek ἀποφατικός (apophatikós, “negative”).
adjective more apophatic · most apophatic
- Pertaining to knowledge of God obtained through negation rather than positive assertions. For him, the assertions of Palamas ran counter to the apophatic insistence in Pseudo-Dionysius that God was unknowable in his essence.
- That passively defines a thing by describing what is not characteristic of it. Here is a sudden interruption of remorseless, detailed exposition with a triple-punch of one-sentence paragraphs of self-indentification (2.1–2.4), and of an apophatic, negative kind, statements of what communists are not, have not, do not—[…]
Opposite: cataphatic
Thesaurus
adjective
Opposite: cataphatic
Translations
Every language
adj pertaining to knowledge of God obtained through negation rather than positive assertions
| 日本語 | 否定神学の |
|---|---|
| Português | apofático |
| Français | apophatique |
| Deutsch | apophatisch |
| Italiano | apofatico |
| Ελληνικά | αποφατικός apofatikós |
Talk about this word "apophatic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/apophatic. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. apophatic. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/apophatic "apophatic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/apophatic.Cite this
@misc{apophatic_2026,
title = {apophatic},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/apophatic},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
