Figurative Language Terms & Examples

Front

Comparison using 'like' or 'as'

Back

Simile

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

Front

Giving human traits to animals or objects

Back

Personification

Tags

CCSS.L.6.5A

Front

Phrase with opposite words

Back

Oxymoron

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5A

Front

Extreme exaggeration

Back

Hyperbole

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

Front

Opposite of intended meaning (situational, verbal, dramatic)

Back

Irony

Tags

CCSS.L.8.5A

Front

Comparison of two unlike things without 'like' or 'as'

Back

Metaphor

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Front

A phrase meaning something different than its literal meaning.

Back

Idiom

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

Front

Repetition of the same initial consonant sounds

Back

Alliteration

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

Front

A word that imitates its sound.

Back

Onomatopoeia

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.L.7.5

CCSS.L.8.5

Front

Humorous word substitution that sounds alike but differs in meaning.

Back

Pun

Tags

CCSS.L.8.5A