Figure of Speech Definition Example

alliteration The repetition of the same consonant "on scrolls of silver snowy
sounds or of different vowel sounds at sentences" (Hart Crane)
the beginning of words or in stressed
syllables
anacoluthon An abrupt change within a sentence to a "I warned him that if he continues
second construction inconsistent with to drink, what will become of him?"
the first, sometimes used for rhetorical
effect
anadiplosis Rhetorical repetition at the beginning of "He is a man of loyalty--loyalty
a phrase of the word or words with always firm."
which the previous phrase ended
anaphora The deliberate repetition of a word or "We shall fight on the beaches, we
phrase at the beginning of several shall fight on the landing grounds,
successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs we shall fight in the fields and in
the streets, we shall fight in the
hills" (Winston S. Churchill)
anastrophe Inversion of the normal syntactic order "Matter too soft a lasting mark to
of words bear" (Alexander Pope)
anthropomorphism Attribution of human motivation,
characteristics, or behavior to inanimate
objects, animals, or natural phenomena.
antiphrasis The use of a word or phrase in a sense "a mere babe of 40 years"
contrary to its normal meaning for
ironic or humorous effect
antithesis A figure of speech in which sharply "Hee for God only, shee for God in
contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in a him" (John Milton)
balanced or parallel phrase or
grammatical structure
antonomasia The substitution of a personal name for calling a traitor a "Benedict
a common noun to designate a member Arnold"
of a group or class
aposiopesis A sudden breaking off of a thought in This sentence is an example of—
the middle of a sentence, as though the
speaker were unwilling or unable to
continue.
assonance Resemblance of sound, especially of the "that dolphin-torn, that gong-
vowel sounds in words tormented sea" (William Butler
Yeats)
catachresis Strained use of a word or phrase, as for The Clifton Suspension Bridge,
rhetorical effect. from which many a young person
has jumped to their conclusion.
chiasmus A rhetorical inversion of the second of "Each throat/Was parched, and
two parallel structures glazed each eye" (Samuel Taylor
Coleridge)
circumlocution The use of unnecessarily wordy and
indirect language.
double-entendre A word or phrase having a double
meaning, especially when the second
meaning is risqué.
dysphemism the substitution of a harsh, disparaging, You idiot!, instead of That was
or unpleasant expression for a more unwise.
neutral one.
enallage the use of one grammatical form in We are not amused.(Queen
place of another, as the plural for the Victoria)
singular in the editorial use of "we"
epistrophe the repetition of a word or words at the "I should do Brutus wrong, and
end of two or more successive verses, Cassius wrong..." (Shakespeare)
clauses, or sentences
epithet A term used to characterize a person or rosy-fingered in rosy-fingered
thing. dawn
A term used as a descriptive substitute the Great in Catherine the Great
for the name or title of a person The Great Emancipator for
Abraham Lincoln
equivoke An intentionally ambiguous word,
phrase, or expression
euphemism The act or an example of substituting a "neutralize" for "kill"
mild, indirect, or vague term for one
considered harsh, blunt, or offensive
euphuism Affected elegance of language From these generic visits sprang an
abiogenetic romance.
hyperbaton A figure of speech, such as anastrophe
or hysteron proteron, using deviation
from normal or logical word order to
produce an effect
hyperbole A figure of speech in which "I could sleep for a year" or "This
exaggeration is used for emphasis or book weighs a ton."
effect
hysteron proteron A figure of speech in which the natural "bred and born" instead of "born
or rational order of its terms is reversed and bred".
inversion A change in normal word order, such as
the placement of a verb before its
subject.
irony The use of words to express something
different from and often opposite to
their literal meaning.
litotes A figure of speech consisting of an "This is no small problem"
understatement in which an affirmative
is expressed by negating its opposite
logodaedely Cunning word-play
malapropism Ludicrous misuse of a word, especially
by confusion with one of similar sound.
metaphor A figure of speech in which a word or "a sea of troubles" or "All the
phrase that ordinarily designates one world's a stage" (Shakespeare)
thing is used to designate another, thus
making an implicit comparison
metonymy A figure of speech in which one word or the use of Washington for the
phrase is substituted for another with United States government or of the
which it is closely associated sword for military power
oxymoron A rhetorical figure in which "a deafening silence" or "the little
incongruous or contradictory terms are giant"
combined
onomatopoeia The formation or use of words that buzz or murmur
imitate the sounds associated with the
objects or actions they refer to.
palillogy the technique of repeating a word or
phrase for emphasis.
paralipsis the suggestion, by deliberately concise "... not to mention other faults."
treatment of a topic, that much of
significance is being omitted
paronomasia Word play; punning
personification The representation of an object or Wisdom calls aloud in the street.
 concept as if it were a person.
portmanteau word A word formed by merging the sounds chortle, from chuckle and snort
and meanings of two different words
preciosity Extreme meticulousness or
overrefinement, as in language, taste, or
style.
rhetoric Language that is elaborate, pretentious,
insincere, or intellectually vacuous.
simile A figure of speech in which two "How like the winter hath my
essentially unlike things are compared, absence been" or "So are you to my
often in a phrase introduced by like or thoughts as food to life"
as (Shakespeare)
spoonerism A transposition of sounds of two or Let me sew you to your sheet for
more words, especially a ludicrous one Let me show you to your seat.
syllepsis A construction in which a word governs "He lost his coat and his temper"
two or more other words but agrees in
number, gender, or case with only one,
or has a different meaning when applied
to each of the words
synecdoche A figure of speech in which a part is hand for sailor
used for the whole the law for police officer
the whole for a part cutthroat for assassin
the specific for the general thief for pickpocket
the general for the specific steel for sword
material for the thing from which it is
made
tmesis The separation of the parts of a abso-bloody-lutely
compound word, now generally done fan-f***ing-tastic
for humorous effect.
trope The figurative use of a word or an
expression, as metaphor or hyperbole.
understatement Restraint or lack of emphasis in
expression, as for rhetorical effect.
zeugma A construction in which a single word, "He took my advice and my wallet"
especially a verb or an adjective, is
applied to two or more nouns when its
sense is appropriate to only one of them
or to both in different ways