English 9 Figures of Speech

Hackneyed

(of a phrase or idea) lacking significance through having been overused; unoriginal and trite. "hackneyed old sayings"

Idiom

Is a phrase or a fixed expression that has a figurative, or sometimes literal, meaning. An i

Alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter at the beginning of a word, closely or adjacent to each other.

Analogy

a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarify.

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in Cleveland won by six runs (meaning "Cleveland's baseball team").

Zeugma

a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses (e.g., John and his license expired last week ) or to two others of which it semantically suits only one (e.g., with weeping eyes and hearts ).

Oxymoron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g., faith unfaithful kept him falsely true ).

Simile

a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox ).

Epiphany

a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.

Antithesis

a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else.

Epigram

a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way.

Paradox

a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.

Allusion

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Connotation

an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. "the word "discipline" has unhappy connotations of punishment and repression"

Epitaph

an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. "the word "discipline" has unhappy connotations of punishment and repression"

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Apostrophe

figure of speech in which an absent person, a personified inanimate being, or an abstraction is addressed as though present.

Metaphor

is a figure of speech that identifies something as being the same as some unrelated thing for rhetorical effect, thus highlighting the similarities between the two. Example: "Freddie is a pig when he eats."

Eulogy

is a speech or writing in praise of a person(s) or thing(s), especially one who recently died or retired or as a term of endearment. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services

Symbolic

is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. An action, person, place, word, or object can all have a _____ meaning. When an author wants to suggest a certain mood or emotion, he can also use ______ to hint at it, rather than just blatantly saying it.

Parallelism

is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter. Example: Like Father, like son.

Sensory

of or relating to sensation or the physical senses; transmitted or perceived by the senses.

Cliché

phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

Implied metaphor

that compares two unlike things, but it does so without mentioning one of them.

Repetition

the action of repeating something that has already been said or written.

Personification

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Denotation

the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests. "beyond their immediate denotation, the words have a connotative power"

Understatement

the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is. "a master of English understatement" synonyms:

Euphemism

the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.

Metonymy

the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.

Syllepsis

the use of a word or expression to perform two syntactic functions, especially to modify two or more words of which at least one does not agree in number, case, or gender, as the use of are in Neither he nor we are willing.

Imagery

visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.