[USTET] English - Figures of Speech

studied byStudied by 2 people
5.0(1)
Get a hint
Hint

Figure of Speech

1 / 40

flashcard set

Earn XP

Description and Tags

41 Terms

1

Figure of Speech

A rhetorical device that achieves a special effect by using words in a distinctive way

New cards
2

Alliteration

Repetition of an initial consonant sound

New cards
3

Alliteration

She sells seashells by the seashore.

New cards
4

Anaphora

The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.

New cards
5

Anaphora

Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the wrong day.

New cards
6

Antithesis

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.

New cards
7

Antithesis

As Abraham Lincoln said, "Folks who have no vices have very few virtues."

New cards
8

Apostrophe

Directly addressing a nonexistent person or an inanimate object as though it were a living being.

New cards
9

Apostrophe

"Oh, you stupid car, you never work when I need you to," Bert sighed.

New cards
10

Assonance

Identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.

New cards
11

Assonance

How now, brown cow?

New cards
12

Chiasmus

A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed.

New cards
13

Chiasmus

The famous chef said people should live to eat, not eat to live.

New cards
14

Euphemism

The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.

New cards
15

Euphemism

"We're teaching our toddler how to go potty," Bob said.

New cards
16

Hyperbole

An extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect.

New cards
17

Hyperbole

I have a ton of things to do when I get home.

New cards
18

Irony

The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. Also, a statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.

New cards
19

Irony

"Oh, I love spending big bucks," said my dad, a notorious penny pincher.

New cards
20

Litotes

A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.

New cards
21

Litotes

A million dollars is no small chunk of change.

New cards
22

Metaphor

An implied comparison between two dissimilar things that have something in common.

New cards
23

Metaphor

"All the world's a stage."

New cards
24

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated; also, the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it.

New cards
25

Metonymy

"That stuffed suit with the briefcase is a poor excuse for a salesman," the manager said angrily.

New cards
26

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

New cards
27

Onomatopoeia

The clap of thunder went bang and scared my poor dog.

New cards
28

Oxymoron

A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.

New cards
29

Oxymoron

"He popped the jumbo shrimp in his mouth."

New cards
30

Paradox

A statement that appears to contradict itself.

New cards
31

Paradox

"This is the beginning of the end," said Eeyore, always the pessimist.

New cards
32

Personification

A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.

New cards
33

Personification

That kitchen knife will take a bite out of your hand if you don't handle it safely.

New cards
34

Pun

​A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

New cards
35

Pun

Jessie looked up from her breakfast and said, "A boiled egg every morning is hard to beat."

New cards
36

Simile

A stated comparison (usually formed with "like" or "as") between two fundamentally dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common.

New cards
37

Simile

Roberto was white as a sheet after he walked out of the horror movie.

New cards
38

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole.

New cards
39

Synecdoche

Tina is learning her ABC's in preschool.

New cards
40

Understatement

A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.

New cards
41

Understatement

"You could say Babe Ruth was a decent ballplayer," the reporter said with a wink.

New cards

Explore top notes

note Note
studied byStudied by 18 people
... ago
4.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 12 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 34 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 13 people
... ago
5.0(2)
note Note
studied byStudied by 1 person
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 57 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 22 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 1975 people
... ago
4.7(11)

Explore top flashcards

flashcards Flashcard (93)
studied byStudied by 1 person
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (115)
studied byStudied by 13 people
... ago
5.0(2)
flashcards Flashcard (22)
studied byStudied by 17 people
... ago
5.0(3)
flashcards Flashcard (75)
studied byStudied by 2 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (29)
studied byStudied by 27 people
... ago
5.0(2)
flashcards Flashcard (40)
studied byStudied by 1 person
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (20)
studied byStudied by 1 person
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (134)
studied byStudied by 2615 people
... ago
4.0(26)
robot