AP LANG EXAM RHETORICAL DEVICES

Zeugma

Using one word to govern two or more words in different ways. Example: She opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy.

Litotes

Understatement where a positive idea is expressed by negating the opposite. Example: He's not bad at singing.

Meiosis

Presenting something with underemphasis to make it seem less important. Example: He’s just a small-time player.

Metaphor

A word or phrase used to represent something else to suggest a similarity. Example: Time is a thief.

Metonymy

Substituting the name of one thing with something related or associated. Example: The crown will find an heir.

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents. Example: The buzzing of the bees.

Oxymoron

A combination of two contradictory words. Example: Cruel kindness.

Pleonasm

Using more words than needed to convey meaning. Example: I saw it with my own eyes.

Simile

Comparing two different things using 'like' or 'as'. Example: Her cheeks were like roses.

Syllepsis

Using a word that fits in two different senses, one literal and one metaphorical. Example: She blew her nose and then blew my mind.

Synecdoche

A part is used to represent the whole or vice versa. Example: Fifty sails (for fifty ships).

Aporia

A rhetorical expression of doubt or uncertainty. Example: To be, or not to be: that is the question.

Cacophony

Harsh, discordant sounds. Example: The harsh cacophony of car alarms.

Chiasmus

Inverting the order of parallel phrases. Example: Working hard or hardly working?

Dialogism

Concluding something based on a single premise. Example: Either some force may act without contact, or gravitation may act.

Dysphemism

A derogatory or unpleasant way of describing something. Example: Greasy spoon (for diner).

Epistrophe

Repetition of words or phrases at the end of successive sentences. Example: Of the people, by the people, for the people.

Epizeuxis

Emphatic repetition of a word. Example: Never, never, never give up.

Hypallage

Switching elements in a sentence to create a less logical relationship. Example: You are lost to joy (instead of joy is lost to you).

Hyperbaton

Inverting the typical word order in a sentence. Example: Judge me by my size, do you?

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for emphasis. Example: She has a mile-high stack of ice cream.

Hypophora

Asking a question and immediately answering it. Example: Why is the sky blue? Because of the atmosphere.

Alliteration

Repeating the same consonant sound at the beginning of words. Example: Wild and woolly, threatening throngs.

Anacoluthon

A sudden shift in a sentence structure. Example: You should have—well, what do you expect?

Anadiplosis

Repetition of the last word of a phrase at the beginning of the next. Example: He loves her, and she loves him.

Anaplesis

Interrupting the chronological order of events with earlier occurrences. Example: We cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—this ground.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Example: We cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow.

Antanaclasis

Repetition of a word in two different senses. Example: Your argument is strong, but not as strong as your presence.

Antiphrasis

Ironic use of words opposite to their usual meaning. Example: This giant of 3 feet 4 inches.

Antonomasia

Using a proper name for a common noun or vice versa. Example: The Bard (for Shakespeare).

Apophasis

Mentioning something by saying it's not going to be mentioned. Example: We won’t discuss his past crimes.