Figurative Language and Literary Devices: Definitions and Examples

Used to compare one thing against another. Compares the likeness of two things and often features the words 'like' or 'as'

Simile

Describes something as something it is not in reality. It is used to compare two things symbolically. Describes something as something it is not.

Metaphor

A term which bears no literal meaning to the situation is it describing but it implies the facts or story behind it.

Idiom

A figure of speech which exaggerates the meaning of a sentence.

Hyperbole

A team which features two words which appear to contradict each other but make sense of the situation overall

Oxymoron

A type of figurative language that is used to give an inanimate object or item a sense of being alive. The speaker would talk to the object as if it could understand and was intelligent.

Personification

Expresses an abstract idea using an item or words.

Symbolism

The repetition of letters or sounds in used within one sentence.

Alliteration

Words are used to describe a sound actually resemble the sound they are referring to.

Onomatopoeia

Creates a play on words. They add extra meaning to a subject and are often seen as a form of joke or to be humorous.

Puns

When a statement that is made, directly contradicts the reality. It is also used to convey a style of sarcasm.

Irony

Makes a comparison to another work or charecter.

Allusion

Uses one word to represent a common link to a larger concept

Metonymy

Uses one part of a noun to describe the whole noun

Synecdoche