Aposiopesis \Ap`o*si`o*pe"sis\ (?; 277), n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, from ? to be quite silent.] (Rhet.) A figure of speech in which the speaker breaks off suddenly, as if unwilling or unable to state what was in his mind; as, ``I declare to you that his conduct -- but I can not speak of that, here.''
aposiopesis n : breaking off in the middle of a sentence (as by writers of realistic conversations) [also: {aposiopeses} (pl)]