accismus

Accismus is a feigned refusal of something earnestly desired.

When receiving gifts or honours, accismus is used to demonstrate modesty: "I am not worthy of the honor."

The 1823 Encyclopædia Britannica writes that accismus may sometimes be considered a virtue, sometimes a vice.

More particularly, in rhetorics, accismus is a figure of speech, a figure of refutation, is a type of irony.

(behaviour) Britannica cites Oliver Cromwell's refusal of the crown of England as an example of accismus.