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When we use a conjunction such as "but" or "yet" to dramatically interrupt the rhythm of a sentence.

What's this literary device called?

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  • They're called contrastives. Feb 4, 2018 at 20:40
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    An example would be beneficial to the question, yet remains unwritten therein.
    – IconDaemon
    Feb 4, 2018 at 20:53
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    Possible duplicate of What is the role of "but" in this context? Feb 4, 2018 at 23:21
  • Perhaps rhetorical devices is the area here: contrast. There are others that might fit, as well.
    – Lambie
    Feb 5, 2018 at 16:14
  • I'd call it "butting in".
    – Hot Licks
    Feb 10, 2018 at 3:48

2 Answers 2

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This is called the Oppositional/Contrastive relationship:

One way to look at the oppositional or contrastive relationship is as the opposite of the additive relationship. In other words, the speaker, having mentioned one thing, wants to go on to talk about something else which contrasts with and is often in opposition to the first thing. Conjunctions and the Oppositional or Contrastitive Relationship

The following conjunctions are used to express the oppositional/contrastive relationship:

  • but
  • although
  • even
  • though
  • though
  • whereas
  • while
  • either . . . or

From: Rochester Institute of Technology - SEA

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I've just found out that it's called "disjunction"

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  • 1
    How about a link to where you found that?
    – KarlG
    Feb 10, 2018 at 2:03

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