Figurative Language Definitions

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What is an expression that means something more than the literal definition?

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Idiom: A phrase or expression that has a figurative meaning different from its literal meaning. Example: 'It's raining cats and dogs.'

Front

What is an extreme exaggeration?

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Hyperbole: A figure of speech that uses extreme exaggeration to make a point. Example: 'I could sleep for a thousand years.'

Front

What is an indirect comparison that typically uses like or as?

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Simile: A figure of speech that compares two different things using 'like' or 'as'. Example: 'Her smile is like the sun.'

Front

What uses figures of speech to build meaning beyond the literal?

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Figurative language: Language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation.

Front

What is the repetition of the beginning consonant sound within a group of words?

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Alliteration: The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. Example: 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.'

Front

What is a comparison that does not use 'like' or 'as'?

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Metaphor: A figure of speech that directly refers to one thing by mentioning another, suggesting they are alike. Example: 'Time is a thief.'

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What is giving human traits to non-human things?

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Personification: A figure of speech where human qualities are attributed to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract concepts. Example: 'The wind whispered through the trees.'

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What is a word that imitates a sound?

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Onomatopoeia: A word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound it describes. Example: 'Buzz', 'hiss', 'clang'.

Front

What is a phrase that has a meaning different from the literal meaning?

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Idiom: A common expression that does not mean what it literally says. Example: 'Kick the bucket' means to die.

Front

What is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'?

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Metaphor: A direct comparison that suggests one thing is another. Example: 'He is a lion in battle.'