Upgrade to remove ads
Busy. Please wait.
Log in with Clever
or

show password
Forgot Password?

Don't have an account?  Sign up 
Sign up using Clever
or

Username is available taken
show password


Make sure to remember your password. If you forget it there is no way for StudyStack to send you a reset link. You would need to create a new account.
Your email address is only used to allow you to reset your password. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.


Already a StudyStack user? Log In

Reset Password
Enter the associated with your account, and we'll email you a link to reset your password.

Exam Definitions

        Help!  

Question
Answer
Adnomination   Repetition of words with the same root. The difference lies in one sound or letter. A nice euphony can be achieved by using this poetic device. Examples: Someone, somewhere, wants something.  
🗑
Allegory   Representation of ideas thru a certain form (character, event). can convey hidden meanings thru symbolic figures, actions, & imagery. E. Animal Farm is about Russian Revolution, characters stand f/working & upper classes, military, & political leaders.  
🗑
Alliteration   The repeated sound of the first consonant in a series of words, or the repetition of the same sounds of the same kind at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables of a phrase. Ex: A lazy lying lion. Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers.  
🗑
Allusion   Reference to a myth, character, literary work, work of art, or an event. Ex: I feel like I’m going down the rabbit hole (an allusion to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll).  
🗑
Anaphora   Word repetition at the beginnings of sentences in order to give emphasis to them. Ex: “Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring......."  
🗑
Epiphora   Word repetition at the end of sentences. Ex: “And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” (Abraham Lincoln)  
🗑
Antithesis   Emphasizing contrast between two things or fictional characters. Ex: “Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing; a confusion of the real with the ideal never goes unpunished.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)  
🗑
Apostrophe   Directed speech to someone who is not present or to an object. Ex: “Work on, my medicine, work! Thus credulous fools are caught.” (William Shakespeare)  
🗑
Assonance   Repetition of vowels in order to create internal rhyming. Ex: “Hear the mellow wedding bells.” (Edgar Allan Poe)  
🗑
Consonance   Repetition of consonants ex.Pitter Patter, Pitter Patter-repetition of the "t," and "r" sounds.  
🗑
Cataphora   Mentioning of the person or object further in the discourse. Ex: I met him yesterday, your boyfriend who was wearing the cool hat. -If you want some, here’s some cheese. -After he had received his orders, the soldier left the barracks.  
🗑
Climax   Arranging text in such a manner that tension gradually ascends. Ex. He was a not bad listener, a good speaker and an amazing performer.  
🗑
Anticlimax   Tension descends. ex.Tension builds in a horror movie as a young girl approaches a closed door. There is a scratching sound coming from behind the door. When she opens it, a cat comes out  
🗑
Charactonym (or Speaking Name)   Giving fictional characters names that describe them. Ex: Scrooge, Snow White.  
🗑
Ellipsis   Word or phrase omission. Ex: I speak lots of languages, but you only speak two (languages).  
🗑
Euphemism   Replacing offensive or combinations of words with lighter equivalents. Ex: Visually challenged (blind); meet one’s maker (die)  
🗑
Dysphemism   Replacing a neutral word with a harsher word ex:Using "Looney Bin" in place of mental hospital.  
🗑
Epigram   Memorable and brief saying, usually satirical. Ex: “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” (Virginia Woolf)  
🗑
Hyperbole   Exaggeration of the statement. Ex: If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times.  
🗑
Litotes   Understatement ex:“not too bad” for “very good” is an understatement  
🗑
Hypophora   Asking a question and answering it right away. Ex: Are you going to leave now? I don’t think so.  
🗑
Verbal Irony   (Antiphrasis) – using words to express something different from their literal meaning for ironic effect (”I’m so excited to burn the midnight oil and write my academic paper all week long”).  
🗑
Situational Irony   result differs from the expectation (Bruce Robertson, a character of Filth, is a policeman. Nonetheless, he does drugs, resorts to violence and abuse, and so on).  
🗑
Dramatic Irony   situation is understandable for the audience but not the fictional character/actor (audience sees that the fictional characters/actors will be killed now, though the characters don’t expect it).  
🗑
Merism   Describing people/objects by enumerating their traits. Ex: Lock, stock, and barrel (gun); heart and soul (entirety)  
🗑
Metalepsis   Referencing one thing through the means of another thing, which is related to the first one. Ex: “Stop judging people so strictly—you live in a glass house too.” (A hint at the proverb: people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.)  
🗑
Metaphor   Comparing two different things that have some characteristics in common. Ex:The typical teenage boy’s room is a disaster area  
🗑
Metonymy   Giving a thing another name that is associated with it. Ex: The heir to the crown was Richard. (the crown stands for authority)  
🗑
Onomatopoeia   Imitating sounds in writing. Ex: oink, ticktock, tweet tweet  
🗑
Oxymoron   Combining contradictory traits. Ex: Living dead; terribly good; real magic  
🗑
Parallelism   Arranging a sentence in such a manner that it has parallel structure. Ex: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I will learn.” (Benjamin Franklin)  
🗑
Chiasmus   An inverted parallelism Ex: We shape our buildings, and afterward our buildings shape us  
🗑
Parenthesis   nterrupting a sentence by inserting extra information enclosed in brackets, commas, or dashes. Ex: Our family (my mother, sister, and grandfather) had a barbeque this past weekend.  
🗑
Personification   Attributing human characteristics to nonhumans. Ex: Practically all animals in fairy tales act like human beings. They speak and have traits that are typical of people.  
🗑
Antanaclasis Pun   repetition of the same word or phrase, but with a different meaning (“Cats like Felix like Felix.”—“Felix” catfood slogan).  
🗑
Malapropism Pun   usage of the incorrect word instead of the word with a similar sound (“optical delusion” instead of “optical illusion”).  
🗑
Paradox Pun   self-contradictory fact; however, it can be partially true (“I can resist anything but temptation.”—Oscar Wilde).  
🗑
Paraprosdokian Pun   arranging a sentence in such a manner so the last part is unexpected (You’re never too old to learn something stupid).  
🗑
Polyptoton Pun   repetition of the words with the same root (“The things you own end up owning you.”—Chuck Palahniuk).  
🗑
Rhetorical question   Questioning without expecting the answer. Examples: Why not? Are you kidding me?  
🗑
Simile   Direct comparison. Ex: “Your heart is like an ocean, mysterious and dark.” (Bob Dylan)  
🗑
Synecdoche   Generalization or specification based on a definite part/trait of the object. Ex: He just got new wheels. (car)  
🗑
Tautology   Saying the same thing twice in different ways. Examples: first priority I personally repeat again  
🗑
Zeugma (or Syllepsis)   Applying a word to a few other words in the sentence in order to give different meaning. Ex: She broke his car and his heart.  
🗑
Implicit   In advertising- hidden messages. Not so obvious but inferred. Media uses visuals, settings, body language, colours etc. to communicate. Ex: Cologne ad- guy is with a beautiful girl (because he is wearing cologne)  
🗑
Explicit   In advertising- obvious, clear, specific, and detailed. Leave little room for interpretation. Ex: ad for juice stating that it contains 100% or your recommended daily vitamin C  
🗑


   

Review the information in the table. When you are ready to quiz yourself you can hide individual columns or the entire table. Then you can click on the empty cells to reveal the answer. Try to recall what will be displayed before clicking the empty cell.
 
To hide a column, click on the column name.
 
To hide the entire table, click on the "Hide All" button.
 
You may also shuffle the rows of the table by clicking on the "Shuffle" button.
 
Or sort by any of the columns using the down arrow next to any column heading.
If you know all the data on any row, you can temporarily remove it by tapping the trash can to the right of the row.

 
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.

  Normal Size     Small Size show me how
Created by: cianieri
Popular English Vocabulary sets