Figurative Language Definitions

Front

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

Back

Figurative language

Front

What is an indirect comparison that typically uses like or as? Example: She is as happy as a cat riding a unicorn through space.

Back

Simile

Front

What is an extreme exaggeration? Example: Finally, on the millionth time he asked her out a date, she said yes!

Back

Hyperbole

Front

What are words that resemble the sound they represent? Example: The baseball whizzed past my ear straight into the catcher’s mitt for strike 3.

Back

Onomatopoeia

Front

What is the use of language that engages the 5 senses: Hearing, Sight, Taste, Smell, and Touch? Example: The scruffy black cat’s back arches and hair stands straight up when it encounters the chocolate brown snarling dog whose teeth look like little knives covered in butter.

Back

Imagery

Front

What is a direct comparison between two unlike things without using like or as? Example: Time is a thief.

Back

Metaphor

Front

What is a phrase that has a meaning different from the literal meaning of the words? Example: It's raining cats and dogs.

Back

Idiom

Front

What is the repetition of the same initial consonant sound in a series of words? Example: She sells sea shells by the sea shore.

Back

Alliteration

Front

What is giving human traits or characteristics to non-human things? Example: The wind whispered through the trees.

Back

Personification

Front

What is a reference to a well-known story, event, or person? Example: He has the Midas touch.

Back

Allusion