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Figures of Speech
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Alliteration | The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words |
| Aposiopesis | The leaving of a thought incomplete, usually by a sudden breaking off |
| Apostrophe | A rhetorical figure of speech where a speaker addresses an absent person, an abstract idea, or an inanimate object |
| Assonance | The repetition of a vowel sound or diphthong in non-rhyming words |
| Cacophony | A harsh mixture of sounds |
| Cliche | A saying, idea, or element of artistic work that is overused in a culture to the point of losing its original, more significant meaning |
| Colloquialism | A word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically only used in ordinary or familiar conversation |
| Conceit | An elaborate, far-fetched metaphor comparing two very different things. Synonyms include vanity, egotism, narcissism |
| Epithet | A nickname or descriptive term that’s added to someone’s name that becomes part of common usage |
| Euphemism | A polite or mild word or expression used to refer to something embarrassing, taboo, or unpleasant |
| Euphony | Quality of being pleasing to the ear, through a harmonious combination of words. |
| Hyperbole | An exaggerated claim or statement |
| Idiom | A saying, phrase, or fixed expression in a culture that has a figurative meaning different from its literal meaning |
| Litotes | Ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary. |
| Metaphor | A rhetorical figure of speech that compares two subjects without the use of “like” or “as.” |
| Metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is called by a new name that is related in meaning to the original thing or concept |
| Onomatopoeia | Refers to a word that phonetically mimics or resembles the sound of the thing it describes |
| Oxymoron | A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction |
| Paradox | The juxtaposition of a set of seemingly contradictory concepts that reveal a hidden and/or unexpected truth |
| Paralipsis | The device of emphasizing by professing to say little or nothing about a subject. |
| Parallelism | The usage of repeating words and forms to give pattern and rhythm to a passage in literature |
| Periphrasis | A grammatical principle and manner of speaking that uses more words than necessary to evoke a certain meaning. |
| Personification | Giving human-like characteristics, traits, and/or qualities to non-living/nonhuman things/ideas. |
| Pun | The usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound. |
| Sarcasm | The use of words that mean the opposite of what you really want to say, especially to insult someone, to show irritation, or to be funny |
| Simile | A comparison using the words “like” or “as”. |
| Synecdoche | Literary device in which a part of something represents the whole. Common examples include using "hands" to mean workers, "wheels" for a car |
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Popular English Vocabulary sets