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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 pleasant 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 igure 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 of 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 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 |
Created by:
aubwid905
Popular English Vocabulary sets