Molly Groves - Figurative Language Flash Cards

Figurative Language

Words that don’t mean exactly what they say

Verbal Irony

When someone says something that contradicts what they mean.

Pun

A play on words

Connotation

The feeling a word gives

Denotation

Literal meaning

Word Relationships

How words connect to each other

Allusion

A hidden shout-out to another story

Juxtaposition

Two things placed together with a contrasting effect

Oxymoron

Two opposing words blended together

Theme

A central message or lesson

Inference

A smart guess using clues from the text

Nuance

A tiny shade of difference

Metaphor

Direct comparison

Simile

Comparison using “like” or “as”

Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration

Understatement

Describing something as less significant or severe than it really is

Idiom

A common phrase whose meaning isn’t literal