1. repetition for effect: the use of the same word or phrase at the beginning of several successive clauses, sentences, lines, or verses, usually for emphasis or rhetorical effect. "She didn't speak. She didn't stand. She didn't even look up when we came in" is an example of anaphora.
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formal
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2. referring back: reference to a word or phrase used earlier, especially to avoid repeating the word or phrase by replacing it with something else such as a pronoun. In the sentence "I told Paul to close the door and he did so," the clause "he did so" makes use of anaphora.
3. christianity part of Communion: the offering of the bread and wine in the Christian Communion
