Figures of speech

Simile → A figure of speech that compares two unlike things/ideas using like, as, or so.

• Her smile was as bright as the sun.

• He ran like the wind.

• Life is as unpredictable as the weather.

Metaphor → A figure of speech that compares two unlike things/ideas without using like, as, or so.

• Time is a thief.

• The world is a stage.

• His words were daggers.

Personification → A figure of speech that gives human qualities, actions, or feelings to non-human things/ideas.

• The wind whispered through the trees.

• My phone died after working all day.

• The stars winked at us.

Hyperbole → A figure of speech that uses extreme exaggeration to emphasize a point.

• I’ve told you a million times.

• This bag weighs a ton.

• I’m starving to death.

Onomatopoeia → A figure of speech where the word imitates the natural sound it represents.

• The bees buzzed loudly.

• The glass shattered with a crash.

• The bacon sizzled in the pan.

Alliteration → A figure of speech that repeats the same consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words.

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

• She sells seashells by the seashore.

• The wild winds whipped wildly.

Assonance → A figure of speech that repeats vowel sounds within nearby words.

• The light of the fire is a sight.

• Hear the mellow wedding bells.

• The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.

Consonance → A figure of speech that repeats consonant sounds within or at the end of nearby words.

• The lumpy, bumpy road.

• Pitter-patter of little feet.

• The string was strong.

Oxymoron → A figure of speech that combines two opposite or contradictory words side by side.

• Bittersweet.

• Deafening silence.

• Living dead.

Paradox → A figure of speech that expresses a statement which seems contradictory but reveals a truth.

Irony → A figure of speech where the intended meaning is opposite of what is said or expected.

Pun → A figure of speech that plays on words to create humor or a double meaning.