figure of speech

• Figures of Speech


  A word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid effect
• 20 Types of Figures of Speech

  • Alliteration
  • Antithesis
  • Apostrophe
  • Circumlocution
  • Epigram
  • Euphemism
  • Hyperbole
  • Irony
  • Litotes
  • Metaphor
  • Metonymy
  • Onomatopoeia
  • Oxymoron
  • Paradox
  • Personification
  • Pleonasm
  • Pun
  • Simile
  • Synecdoche
  • Understatement
• Alliteration


  • Repeating of consonant sounds right next to each other, which creates a memorable or melodic effect
• Alliteration


  • She sells seashells by the seashore
• Antithesis


  • A literary technique that places opposite things or ideas next to one another in order to draw out their contrast
• Antithesis


  • "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . ." —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
• Apostrophe


  • A character addresses someone or something that isn't present or cannot respond
• Apostrophe


  • "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" —William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
• Circumlocution


  • The use of a purposely wordy description
• Circumlocution


  • In the Harry Potter series, most characters don't say Lord Voldemort's name; instead, they use this circumlocution: "He Who Must Not Be Named."
• Epigram


  • A clever and memorable statement
• Epigram


  • "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." —Eleanor Roosevelt
• Euphemism


  • A way to say something in an understated manner, often to avoid difficult topics
• Euphemism


  • Death can be an uncomfortable subject, so we've developed many euphemisms to avoid confronting it head-on. Rather than telling a friend that a relative died, you might say they "kicked the bucket," "passed away," or are "no longer with us."
• Hyperbole


  • A deliberate exaggeration that adds emphasis, urgency, or excitement to a statement
• Hyperbole


  • If I don't eat soon, I'm going to die of hunger
• Irony


  • A situation that subverts a reader's expectations
• Irony


  • One of the characters in your story is a hypochondriac, always convinced that they have an exotic and uncurable disease. An ironic ending for that character would be if they died of a common cold
• Litotes


  • Use a double negative to create a positive
• Litotes


  • You're not wrong
• Metaphor


  • The direct comparison of dissimilar things to create more vivid imagery or understanding
• Metaphor


  • He was an onion; to understand him, she had to peel back the layers
• Metonymy


  • A word or object stands in for a closely related word or object
• Metonymy


  • I thought his movies were better when they weren't so Hollywood
• Onomatopoeia


  • A word that sounds like what it means
• Onomatopoeia


  • When a character is exasperated, they might exclaim, "Sheesh!" That's both a word to show exasperation and a sound that happens when you sigh loudly
• Oxymoron


  • A phrase that uses two contradictory words to create a new meaning
• Oxymoron


  • That strawberry cake was awfully good
• Paradox


  • A statement that appears to contradict itself but contains some truth, theme, or humor
• Paradox


  • "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." —George Orwell, Animal Farm
• Personification


  • Assigning human attributes to nonhuman things
• Personification


  • The floorboards groaned under the weight of each step
• Pleonasm


  • The use of more words than necessary to convey meaning
• Pleonasm


  • The burning fire warmed the whole house
• Pun


  • A form of wordplay that purposely substitutes words that sound similar but have different meanings
• Pun


  • "'Mine is a long and a sad tale!' said the Mouse, turning to Alice and sighing. 'It is a long tail, certainly,' said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail; 'but why do you call it sad?'" —Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
• Simile


  • Compares two dissimilar things using "like" or "as"
• Simile


  • It was the first real day of summer, and by the time she came back indoors, she was as red as a tomato
• Synecdoche


  • A smaller unit is used to signify a larger unit or vice versa
• Synecdoche


  • New England won the game by a touchdown. (Here, New England means New England's football team.)