metaphor

A direct comparison between two unlike things without using “like” or “as.”

metonymy

Substituting the name of something with something closely related.

synechdoche

A figure of speech where a part represents the whole (or vice versa).

allusion

A reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work.

litotes

Emphasizing an idea through understatement, often using double negatives.

anachronism

Something placed in the wrong time period

apostrophe

Addressing an absent or imaginary person or object.

epistrophe

Repetition of a word/phrase at the end of successive clauses.

anastrophe

Inversion of normal word order

asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions between parts of a sentence.

anaphora

Repetition of a word/phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

synesthesia

Mixing of senses in description.

aphorism

A short statement expressing a general truth.

Chiasmus

Reversal of grammatical structures in successive clauses.

Conceit

An elaborate, extended metaphor.