aposiopesis

noun

1. (countable, rhetoric, uncountable)An abrupt breaking-off in speech, often indicated in print using an ellipsis (…) or an em dash (—).

   “—"My ſiſter, mayhap," quoth my uncle Toby, "does not chooſe to let a man come ſo near her ****" Make this daſh—'tis an Apoſiopeſis.—Take the daſh away, and write Backſide,—'tis Bawdy.”

   “Aposiopesis leaves imperfect sense; And, sometimes, such a pause speaks eloquence.”

   ““If you are not—” The aposiopesis was icy.”

   ““Have fire in this garret before night or—” / He stopped because he could not go on. It was an aposiopesis of the purest kind.”

   “This somewhat abrupt ending (or aposiopesis) is caused by a previous movement from the figure on the bed.”