Figurative Language Definitions

a phrase that means something very different from the literal meaning
example: "up the creek without a paddle" means being in the middle of a problem or tough situation

• alliteration
• simile
• idiom
• metaphor

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

a figure of speech that has a meaning other than the literal meaning used to make writing more interesting; opposite of "literal language"

• hyperbole
• onomatopoeia
• figurative language
• literally

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

the use of words that sound like what they mean, such as "hiss," "buzz," "slam," and "boom"
example: "The thump, boom, bang of my sister hitting tennis balls against our garage door was very irritating."

• assonance
• onomatopoeia
  onomatopoeia
• oxymoron
• idiom

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.L.7.5

CCSS.L.8.5

language comparing two unlike things using "like" or "as"
example: "Her smile shines like the sun."

• metaphor
• assonance
• alliteration
• simile

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

repetition of initial/ beginning consonant sounds
example: "Wild wooly walruses wait and wonder when we'll walk by."

• metaphor
• hyperbole
• assonance
• alliteration

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

language comparing two unlike things NOT using like or as
example: "Her skin was silk."

• metaphor
• personification
• oxymoron
• simile

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5A

CCSS.L.5.5A

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

language of extreme exaggeration, usually humorous as in a "Tall Tale"
example: "The ice cream cone was a mile high."

• oxymoron
• personification
• hyperbole
• metaphor

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.5A

figurative language that gives human qualities to something that is NOT human
"The wind whipped me and shoved me to the ground."

• simile
• personification
• assonance
• alliteration

Tags

CCSS.L.6.5A

the repetition of vowel sounds in words or syllables
example: "Fleet feet sweep near sleeping geese."

• assonance
• alliteration
• oxymoron
• personification

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

a phrase with words that contradict each other (words with opposite meanings
example: civil war, jumbo shrimp, virtual reality

• metaphor
• assonance
• alliteration
• oxymoron

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5A