AP English Language and Composition Figurative Language Vocabulary

catalog

A list of people, things, events, objects, or some other item

elagic

A type of poetry that expresses sorrow.

eulogy

A piece of writing that honors someone who has just died.

apostrophe

A literary device in which a (usually absent) person or entity is directly addressed.

synecdoche

A literary device in which a part of an object or idea stands for or symbolizes the whole, or the whole symbolizes a part.

anastrophe

A listing of sentence elements without conjunctions; inverted word order

anaphora

when a writer uses the same word or phrase at the beginning of consecutive sentences

syllogism

a three-part deduction that involves drawing a conclusion from two premises

apology

a defense or justification of a stance or position

alliteration

the repeating of consonants in consecutive words

allusion

an implied or indirect reference to something historical, literary, religious, mythical, or popular, such as a well-known story or a famous person

parallelism

A pattern in writing in which words and phrases are similar in structure, one echoing another.

diction

The word choice and purposeful arrangement of words that affect meaning in speech or writing.

jargon

Specialized and often highly technical language.

anecdote

A very brief story that relates to a specific topic.

antithesis

An obvious contrast of ideas, generally balanced or parallel with regard to grammar.

slippery slope fallacy

A logical fallacy that assumes one small event will inevitably lead another more severe event.

scheme

An arrangement of words for effect that relies on the literal meaning of the words.

metonymy

a figure of speech that replaces one word or idea with a related one

aphorism

A brief statement of principle or truth; also called adage or maxim.

trope

A figure of speech that involves a nonliteral use of language, such as a simile, a metaphor, or an understatement.

deductive reasoning

A method of thought or argument that starts with a general idea and then uses specific examples or known facts to support that idea.

inductive reasoning

A method of thought or argument that starts from a specific idea or fact to reach a more general conclusion.

premise

An idea used as the basis of a logical argument.

didactic

Intended to teach a lesson or convey instruction

paradox

A statement that appears to contradict itself but contains some degree of truth

asyndeton

A listing of sentence elements without conjunctions.

polysyndeton

A listing of sentence elements with multiple conjunctions.

polyptoton

The repetition of words in close proximity that come from the same root.

epistrophe

The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses; the opposite of anaphora.

juxtaposition

The placement of two ideas in close proximity to create contrast; antithesis, anaphora and epistrophe are of this class.

periodic sentence

A sentence that isn't logically or grammatically complete until the very end. It lends a sense of dramatic suspense or discovery.

anthropomorphism

Attributing human characteristics or behaviors to something nonhuman.

parenthetical remark

A statement, sometimes inside parentheses, that is not essential to the meaning of a sentence.

epithet

An adjective or description, often with a negative connotation, that characterizes a person or thing.

extended metaphor

a metaphor that develops over the course of multiple sentences or paragraphs.

coceit

a particularly striking or fanciful simile or metaphor, often extended and elaborate

synesthesia

a combination of sensory feelings resulting from a single sensory stimulus