Figurative Language and Rhetorical Devices

Understanding is essential for improving your English language skills.

An ____ is a phrase or expression that has a figurative meaning different from its literal intrepretation.

Idioms

____ are short, traditional saying that offer advice, wisdom, or general truths about life.

Proverbs

Comparison using “like” or “as”

Simile

Direct comparison without “like” or “as”

Metaphor

Giving human qualities to non-human things

Personification

Combination of contradictory terms

Oxymoron

Substituting a related word or phrase

Metonymy

Words that mimic sounds

Onomatopoeia

Extreme exaggeration

Hyperbole

Placing opposing or different things together

Contrast

Intended meaning opposite of literal meaning

Irony

Using humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize or mock

Satire

Clever, inventive, often ironic expression

Wit

Sharp, bitter, or cutting speech involving irony or mockery

Sarcasm

Ending less important than preceding events

Anti-climax

Mark or sign representing an abstract idea

Symbol

Understatement using negative words for a positive statement

Litotes

Statement contradicting itself but containing truth

Paradox

Exploiting multiple meanings or similar sounds of words

Pun

Presenting something as less important than it actually is

Understatement

Using a part to represent the whole, or vice versa

Synecdoche

Putting two opposite ideas together for contrast

Antithesis

Refers to the literal or dictionary definition of a word or phase.

Denotation

Refers to the associated or implied meanings of a phrase, which go beyond its literal definition.

Connotation

A ____ is a question posed for effect or to make a point, rather than to elicit a direct response or answer.

Rhetorical Question