Rhetorical Analysis Study Guide 1

English

Euphemism

A mild or indirect word or phrase used to replace one that is too harsh or blunt.

Antithesis

A rhetorical device that contrasts two opposing ideas in a parallel structure.

Idiom

A phrase or expression that has a figurative meaning different from its literal meaning.

Understatement

A figure of speech where a situation is deliberately made to seem less important than it is.

Metonymy

A figure of speech where one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated.

Hyperbole

An exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'.

Cliché

A phrase or opinion that is overused and lacks original thought.

Simile

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'.

Juxtaposition

The act of placing two contrasting elements side by side to highlight their differences.

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory statement that may reveal a deeper truth.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.

Litotes

A figure of speech that uses understatement by negating the opposite, often to express modesty or irony.

Personification

Attributing human characteristics to nonhuman objects or abstract concepts.

Analogy

A comparison between two things for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part of something represents the whole, or vice versa.

Apostrophe

A rhetorical device in which the speaker addresses an absent person, an abstract idea, or an inanimate object.

Meiosis

A rhetorical understatement, often used to diminish the significance of something.