Figurative Language

Compares two unlike things using “like” or “as.”

• simile

• metaphor

• allusion

• hyperbole

Comparing two things that are not alike to suggest they have something in common.

• onomatopoeia

• adage

• metaphor

• simile

An exaggeration that can’t possibly be true.

• personification

• idiom

• adage

• hyperbole

The repetition of beginning consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables.

• idiom

• alliteration

• onomatopoeia

• simile

Naming a thing or an action by imitating the sound associated with it.

• onomatopoeia

• metaphor

• hyperbole

• adage

Giving something unhuman, actual human qualities.

• allusion

• idiom

• personification

• alliteration

An expression of two or more words that means something other than the actual or literal meaning.

• idiom

• hyperbole

• allusion

• personification

A reference to a place, person, or event, either real or fictitious.

• metaphor

• onomatopoeia

• personification

• allusion

A proverb or short statement expressing a general truth.

• alliteration

• metaphor

• adage

• idiom

“The plane went into a glide, a very fast glide that ate altitude, and suddenly there weren't any lakes.”

• allusion

• simile

• personification

• adage