We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Linguistics

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What Is an Adynaton?

By Alan Rankin
Updated: May 23, 2024
Views: 12,636
Share

Adynaton is a literary term referring to the creative use of exaggeration. Exaggeration used as a figure of speech, a metaphor, or a description is commonly known as hyperbole. Adynaton is a specific form of hyperbole that describes something impossible. An example is the common English expression “when pigs fly,” meaning something is as likely to occur as airborne livestock. Similarly unlikely scenarios have been described in works of literature since ancient times and in the figures of speech of nearly all languages.

Numerous ancient Greek and Roman writers employed adynaton, which was known in Latin as the poetic-sounding impossibilia. This probably reflected the common use of similar phrases as conversational figures of speech. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is famously quoted as saying, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Another early use of adynaton was in folk tales, in which heroic figures were often capable of impossible feats. The American frontier folk hero Pecos Bill, for example, could saddle and ride a cyclone like a bucking bronco.

A common modern use of adynaton is in figures of speech like “pigs might fly” or “when Hell freezes over.” These English expressions describe the unlikelihood of an event by comparing it to other events that will never occur. This type of expression has parallels in numerous languages around the world. The use of deliberately humorous imagery in these expressions helps to make them more preposterous and therefore more memorable.

There are always those who attempt to literalize these expressions, to physically create an adynaton or impossible event. In 1909, for example, an early aviator took a piglet for a flight in his biplane to demonstrate that “pigs might fly.” For centuries, religious scholars have ventured that the “eye of the needle” Christ described was a real passage rather than a metaphor, but no such passage has been discovered. In a 2008 episode of the TV series Mythbusters, the hosts created an actual “lead balloon.” This referred to a popular adynaton for an unsuccessful venture, a saying that also inspired the name of the rock band Led Zeppelin.

Literary uses of adynaton include early works of fantasy like Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift and Gargantua by Francois Rabelais. In these works, people of gigantic size represent unflattering aspects of humanity itself. Modern fantasy and superhero stories focus on characters who can accomplish impossible feats, as did older tales of demigods and folk heroes. Romantic poets of the 18th century often compared their depths of feeling to impossible events or actions. Modern uses include the classic rock song “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” in which Jimi Hendrix declares he will approach a mountain and “chop it down with the edge of my hand.”

Share
Language & Humanities is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Discussion Comments
Share
https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-is-an-adynaton.htm
Copy this link
Language & Humanities, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

Language & Humanities, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.