anagnorisis.

A decisive recognition in a narrative or drama, especially the discovery of someone’s identity or the true nature of a situation.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a moment of anagnorisis
• tragic anagnorisis

On the page

The scar supplied the moment of anagnorisis the earlier scenes had prepared.

Her anagnorisis came when the familiar phrase appeared in the stranger’s letter.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Singular anagnorisis; plural anagnorises. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.