Figurative Language Definitions And Examples – Flashcards
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Metaphor
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A way of describing something by referring to it as something different (comparison) and suggesting that it has similar qualities to that thing. Example - The water is glass.
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Simile
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An expression that describes something by comparing it with something else, using the words 'as' or 'like'. Example - The bunny is as white as snow
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Hyperbole
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A way of describing something by saying it is much bigger, smaller, worse etc than it actually is. Example - She talked my head off!
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Idiom
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A group of words that has a special meaning that is different from the ordinary meaning of each separate word. A style of expression in writing, speech, or music that is typical of a particular group of people Example - 'wolf it down' is an idiom meaning 'eating something really fast'.
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Personification
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A way of describing a non-human thing by giving it human characteristics or having it act in a way that only humans act. Example - The wind whispered hushed secrets through the trees.
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Alliteration
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A type of consonance where the initial consonant is repeated in a sequence of words. The use of several words together that begin with the same sound or letter in order to make a special effect, especially in poetry. Example - The big bubbles were burst by Boone.
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Assonance
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The repetition of similar vowel sounds of words that are close together in a poem. Example - Between 'born' and 'warm' Or
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Consonance
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The repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words. In most cases, consonance refers to the end sound. Example - The black truck.
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Onomatopoeia
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The use of words that sound like the thing that they are describing. Example - 'hiss' or 'boom'
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Allusion
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A reference in a work of literature to a well-known historical event, person, or literature. Example - A character in a non-Simpson book say "D'oh,". That is an allusion to Homer Simpson
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Extended Metaphor
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An implied analogy, or comparison, which is carried throughout a stanza or an entire poem.
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Figurative Language
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Language that means something other than the sum of the words. Opposite of literal language. Example - "That man is as tall as a skyscraper". (The man is 6'2" but not literally as tall as a building.)
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Literal Language
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Language that means exactly what is written. Example - "That man is tall". (The man is literally 6'2")
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Irony
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When the opposite of what you expect occurs. Example - A man who is a traffic cop gets his license suspended for unpaid parking tickets.
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Oxymoron
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A form of paradox that combines a pair of contrary terms into a single expression. A deliberate combination of two words that seem to mean the opposite of each other. Example - 'cruel kindness'
