What Is Figurative Language?

Figurative language is phrasing that goes beyond the literal meaning of words to get a message
or point across.

Simile. A simile is a figure of speech that compares two separate concepts through the use of
a clear connecting word such as “like” or “as.”

Example: “He was wily as a fox,” or “I slept like a log.”

Common Examples of Simile:

There are many common examples of Simile used in everyday conversation and writing. Here
are some well-known phrases that utilize this figure of speech:

● Nutty as a fruitcake
● Slept like a log
● Sly as a fox
● Fits like a glove
● Cool as a cucumber
● Blind as a bat

Metaphor. A metaphor is like a simile, but without connecting words. It simply posits that two
separate things are the same.
For example, “He was a wily fox,” or “She cried a river of tears.”
Implied metaphor. Metaphor takes a few different forms. Sometimes the object of comparison is
purely implied rather than directly referenced, such as in the phrase,
Example: “He barked commands at the team,” which implies comparison to a dog.

Common Examples of Metaphor:

There are many common examples of metaphor in everyday conversation and writing. Here are
some well-known uses of this figure of speech:

● Laughter is the best medicine.

● She is just a late bloomer.
● Is there a black sheep in your family?
● His heart of stone surprised me.
● I smell success in this building.
● He’s buried in a sea of paperwork.
Personification. Personification projects human qualities onto inanimate objects, or
perhaps animals or natural elements.
“The wind howled,” “The words leapt off the page,” and “Time marches on” are all examples of
personification.

Common Examples of Personification

Here are some examples of personification that may be found in everyday expression:

● My alarm yelled at me this morning.

● I like onions, but they don’t like me.
● The sign on the door insulted my intelligence.
● My phone is not cooperating with me today.
● That bus is driving too fast.
● My computer works very hard.

Hyperbole. Hyperbole is extravagant, intentional exaggeration. “I have a million things to do

today” is a common example of hyperbole.

Common Examples of Hyperbole

Such exaggeration or distortion can help express strong emotion, emphasize a point, or even
evoke humor. Here are some common examples of hyperbole in everyday speech:

● I’m so hungry that I could eat a horse.

● That purse looks like it cost a million dollars.
● I Love You to the moon and back.
● He feels buried under a mountain of work.
● I’m dying of thirst.
● That dog is the cutest thing alive.

Allusion. Allusion is when a text references another external text—or maybe a person, place
or event. It can be either explicit or implicit. “We’ve entered a Garden of Eden” is an allusion to
the biblical place, for instance.

Here are some common examples of allusion in everyday speech, along with the source
material to which they reference:

● His smile is like kryptonite to me. (Superman’s weakness)

● She felt like she had a golden ticket. (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
● That guy is young, scrappy, and hungry. (Hamilton)
 ● I wish I could just click my heels. (The Wizard of Oz)
● If I’m not home by midnight, my car might turn into a pumpkin. (Cinderella)
● She smiles like a Cheshire cat. (Alice in Wonderland)

Idiom. Idioms are non-literal turns of phrase so common that most people who speak the
same language know them. English examples include, “He stole her thunder” and “We’ll cross
that bridge when we come to it.”

Common Examples of Idiom

Here are some common examples of idioms used in everyday speech and their meaning:

● beat the clock (finish something quickly, before a set time)

● ducks in a row (to get organized)
● by the book (do something correctly, follow the rules)
● hit the jackpot (to win or have immediate success)
● draw a blank (unable to remember something)

Pun. A pun is a play on words. It exploits the different meanings of a word or its homonyms,
usually to humorous effect. A well-worn example of a pun is: “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies
like a banana.”

Common Examples of Puns

Here are some examples of puns that may be found in everyday expression:

● Denial is a river in Egypt.

● The cyclist was two tired to win the race.
● Take my wife, please.
● Her cat is near the computer to keep an eye on the mouse.
● When my algebra teacher retired, he wasn’t ready for the aftermath.
● Some bunny loves you.

Onomatopoeia. In onomatopoeia, words sound like the thing they describe. Sound effects
like “tick-tock” and “ding-dong” are everyday examples, as well as words like “zap” and “hiccup.”
Sometimes individual words are not onomatopoeic, but they will become so in the context of the
words around them, as in Edgar Allan Poe’s “suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone
gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.”
Common Examples of Onomatopoeia

● The buzzing bee flew away.

● The sack fell into the river with a splash.
● The books fell on the table with a loud thump.
● He looked at the roaring
● The rustling leaves kept me awake.

Alliteration. Many experts also consider alliteration an example of figurative language, even
though it does not involve figures of speech. Rather, alliteration is a sound device that layers
some additional meaning on top of the literal language of the text. It occurs when a series of
words start with the same letter sound, such as “wicked witch” or “from forth the fatal loins of
these two foes.” This can help build imagery or mood, hence the connection to figurative
language.

Common Examples of Alliteration

Here are some examples of alliteration in everyday speech:

● rocky road
● big business
● kissing cousins
● jumping jacks
● no nonsense
● tough talk