tropes

metaphor

an implied comparison between two things of unlike nature that yet have something in common; a comparison of two things without using the words "like" or "as"

simile

an explicit comparison between two things of unlike nature that yet have something in common; a comparison of two things using either “like” or “as.”

synecdoche

a figure of speech where a part stands for the whole.

metonymy

when an object or concept is referred to not by its own name, but instead by the name of something closely associated with it

antanaclasis

repetition of a word in two different senses.

paronomasia

a phrase used to exploit the confusion between words having similar sounds but different meanings (homophones) in order to create humor and show a writer or character’s shrewdness.

syllepsis

figure of speech in which one “governing” word or phrase modifies two distinct parts of a sentence of which it grammatically suits only one.

zeugma

a figure of speech in which one “governing” word or phrase modifies two distinct parts of a sentence.

anthimeria

the substitution of one part of speech for another, often the usage of a word in a new grammatical form, most often the usage of a noun as a verb.

periphrasis

the use of excessive and longer words to convey a meaning which could have been conveyed with a shorter expression. It is an indirect or roundabout way of writing about something.

personification

investing abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities or abilities.

apostrophe

addressing an absent person or a personified abstraction.

hyperbole

the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect.

litotes

a form of understatement in which a sentiment is expressed ironically by negating its contrary.

rhetorical question

asking a question, not for the purpose of eliciting an answer but for the purpose of asserting or denying something obliquely.

irony

use of a word in such a way as to convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning of the word

sarcasm

witty language used to convey insults or scorn.

onomatopoeia

a figure of speech in which words evoke the actual sound of the thing they describe

oxymoron

the yoking of two terms that are ordinarily contradictory. contradictory terms

paradox

an apparently contradictory statement that nevertheless contains a measure of truth.