Figurative Language

Dysphemism

a humorous or harsh term or phrase used in place of an acceptable term or phrase.

Euphemism

a polite word or phrase used in place of an offensive or crude word or phrase.

Paradox

a statement that initially contradicts itself but, in fact, includes a fundamental truth.

Idiom

an expression that is clear only to those who are familiar with the language of its origin and cannot be understood based on its literal meaning.

Oxymoron

the combination of two words of contrasting meanings to convey a single idea or thought.

Denotation

the explicit, literal meaning of a word or phrase. Denotation is the meaning of a word found in a dictionary.

Alliteration

the repetition of a beginning consonant sound with in a phrase of sentence.

Consonance

the repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words in a phrase or sentence.

Assonance

the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds found within or at the end of words or phrases.

Connotation

the suggestive meaning of a word or phrase.

Pun

the use of similar of identical sounding words to create an alternate meaning to the sentence in which it is used.