Identifying Figurative Language Examples

Front

What is a metaphor?

Back

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things directly, without using 'like' or 'as'. Example: 'Time is a thief.'

Front

What is hyperbole?

Back

A figure of speech that uses extreme exaggeration for emphasis or effect. Example: 'I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.'

Front

What is personification?

Back

A figure of speech that gives human qualities to non-human things. Example: 'The wind howled in the night.'

Front

What is alliteration?

Back

A figure of speech that repeats the same sound at the beginning of words. Example: 'She sells sea shells by the sea shore.'

Front

What is a simile?

Back

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

Front

What is irony?

Back

A figure of speech where the intended meaning is opposite to the literal meaning. Example: A fire station burns down.

Front

What is a cliché?

Back

An overused expression that has lost its original meaning or effect. Example: 'Time heals all wounds.'

Front

What is assonance?

Back

A figure of speech that repeats vowel sounds within nearby words. Example: 'The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.'

Front

What is onomatopoeia?

Back

A word that imitates the sound it represents. Example: 'Buzz', 'hiss', 'bang'.

Front

What is imagery?

Back

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses and creates a mental picture. Example: 'The golden sun set over the calm, blue ocean.'