Figures of Speech

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What is a metaphor?

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A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things by stating one is the other, without using 'like' or 'as'. Example: 'Time is a thief.'

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What is hyperbole?

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A figure of speech that involves exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Example: 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.'

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What is personification?

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A figure of speech in which human qualities are attributed to nonhuman things. Example: 'The wind whispered through the trees.'

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What is alliteration?

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The repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words. Example: 'She sells sea shells by the sea shore.'

Front

What is a simile?

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A figure of speech that compares two different things using 'like' or 'as'. Example: 'Her smile was like sunshine.'

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What is imagery?

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Descriptive language that appeals to the senses and creates a vivid picture in the reader's mind. Example: 'The golden sun set behind the mountains, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink.'

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What is onomatopoeia?

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A figure of speech where a word imitates the sound it represents. Example: 'The bees buzzed around the garden.'

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What is an idiom?

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

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What is a pun?

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A form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term or similarity in sound for humorous or rhetorical effect. Example: 'Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.'

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What is a cliché?

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An overused expression or idea that has lost its originality and impact. Example: 'All's fair in love and war.'