Figures of Speech

a word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid effect.

1. Alliteration 7. Climax 9. Antithesis 12. Euphemism 14. Ellipsis

2. Anaphora 8. Anticlimax 10. Apostrophe 13. Dysphemism
3. Epiphora 11. Epigram
4. Assonance
5. Antanaclasis
6. Adnomination

15. Epigram 19. Litotes 22. Personification 26. Metonymy

16. Hyperbole 20. Tautology 23. Simile 27. Synecdoche
17. Irony 21. Onomatopoeia 24. Metaphor
18. Oxymoron 25. Allusion
Adnomination
refers to the repetition of root words, where (for example) "some" is the root
word shared by both "someone" and "somewhere".

• News is what somebody, somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is

advertising.
Alliteration
is the repetition of initial sounds in neighbouring words.
Alliteration draws attention to the phrase and is often used for emphasis. The
initial consonant sound is usually repeated in two neighbouring words
although sometimes the repetition occurs also in words that are not
neighbours.
Examples:
• sweet smell of success,
• a dime a dozen,
• bigger and better,
• jump for joy
Anaphora
is a stylistic device that consists of repeating a sequence of words at the
beginnings of neighboring clauses to give them emphasis.
Example:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the
epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we
had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going
direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...
- Tale of Two Cities : Charles Dickens
Epiphora (also called epistrophe)
is a rhetorical device that consists of repeating a sequence of words at the
end of neighbouring clauses to give them emphasis.
Example:
... this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that
government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish
from the earth. - Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address
There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no
Northern problem. There is only an American problem. - Lyndon B. Johnson
in We Shall Overcome
Assonance
is a figure of speech that is found more often in verse than in prose. It refers to
the repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or
sentences.
Example:
"the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain" - The Raven By
Edgar Allan Poe
"That solitude which suits abstruser musings" - The Princess VII.203 by Alfred
Lord Tennyson
Antanaclasis
is a rhetorical device in which a word is repeated and whose meaning
changes in the second instance. Antanaclasis is a common type of pun.
Examples:
Put out the light, then put out the light. - Shakespeare in Othello. This is said
by Othello when he enters Desdemona's chamber while she sleeps, intending
to murder her. The first instance of put the light out means he will quench the
candle, and the second instance means he will end the life of Desdemona.
Your argument is sound, nothing but sound. - Benjamin Franklin. The word
sound in the first instance means solid or reasonable. The second instance of
sound means empty.
Climax
refers to a figure of speech in which words, phrases, or clauses are arranged
in order of increasing importance.
Example:
"There are three things that will endure: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest
of these is love.“
This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men,
would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness.“ - Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream
Anticlimax
refers to a figure of speech in which statements gradually descend in order of
importance. Unlike climax, anticlimax is the arrangement of a series of words,
phrases, or clauses in order of decreasing importance.
Example:
He lost his family, his car and his cell phone
Antithesis
is a figure of speech which refers to the juxtaposition of opposing or
contrasting ideas. It involves the bringing out of a contrast in the ideas by an
obvious contrast in the words, clauses, or sentences, within a parallel
grammatical structure.
Examples:
"Man proposes, God disposes.“
"Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing."
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.“
“Love is blind, marriage is an eye opener”
Apostrophe
is an exclamatory rhetorical figure of speech, when a speaker or writer breaks
off and directs speech to an imaginary person or abstract quality or idea.
Example:
"Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again.“
Paul Simon, The Sounds of Silence
Epigram
refers to a concise, witty, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical
statement. The origin of the word epigram is Greek, from epigraphein (epi-
+ graphein to write)
Examples:
The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws."
(Tacitus)
"I can resist everything but temptation." - Oscar Wilde
"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put and end to mankind." - John
F. Kennedy
Euphemism
is used to express a mild, indirect, or vague term to substitute for a harsh,
blunt, or offensive term. Euphemism is often contrasted with dysphemism.
Some euphemisms intend to amuse, while others intend to give positive
appearances to negative events or even mislead entirely.
Examples:
Comfort woman for prostitute
Adult entertainment for pornography.
Passed away for die.
Dysphemism
is the use of a harsh, more offensive word instead of one considered less
harsh. Dysphemism is often contrasted with euphemism. Dysphemisms are
generally used to shock or offend.
Example:
Bullshit for lies.
Egghead for genius.
Fag for homosexual man.
Ellipsis (or elliptical construction )
is the omission of a word or words. It refers to constructions in which words
are left out of a sentence but the sentence can still be understood.
Ellipsis helps us avoid a lot of redundancy. In fact there is a lot of redundancy
in language and it can be surprising how much can be left out without losing
much meaning, particularly when there are contextual clues as to the real
meaning.
Example:
• She can help with the housework; Nancy can (help with the housework),
too.
• John can speak seven languages, but Ron can speak only two (languages.)
The words between parentheses can be omitted and the sentences can still
be meaningful.
Hyperbole
is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be
used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not
meant to be taken literally. Hyperboles are exaggerations to create emphasis
or effect.
Examples:
The bag weighed a ton.
I could sleep for a year; I was so tired.
He's filthy rich. He's got tons of money.
Irony
is a figure of speech in which there is a contradiction of expectation between
what is said what is really meant. It is characterized by an incongruity, a
contrast, between reality and appearance.
Examples:
His argument was as clear as mud.
The two identical twins were arguing. One of them told the other: "You're ugly"
The thieves robbed the police station.
Litotes
is a figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is
expressed by negating its opposite. For example, instead of saying that
someone is mean, you can say he is not very generous.
Example:
She is not very beautiful.
Don't be too wicked.
It won't be an easy trip
Oxymoron
is a figure of speech that combines incongruous or contradictory terms.

Examples:
Deafening silence
Living dead
Open secret
Virtual reality
Personification
is a figure of speech in which human characteristics are attributed to an
abstract quality, animal, or inanimate object.
Examples:
Lightning danced across the sky.
Traffic slowed to a crawl.
My alarm clock yells at me every morning.
XAT is out there to kill me
Simile
is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the
word "like" or "as".
Examples:
He fights like a lion.
"My dad was a mechanic by trade when he was in the Army, When he got the
tools out, he was like a surgeon."
Metaphor
Unlike simile, metaphor (from the Greek language: meaning "transfer") is
language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects. It is a figure of
speech that compares two or more things not using like or as. In the simplest
case, this takes the form:
X - is - Y
Examples:
Time is a thief
Rollercoaster of emotions
He is the apple of my eye
Allusion
is a literary device, a figure of speech that quickly stimulates different ideas
and associations using only a couple of words.
In an allusion the reference may be to a place, event, literary work, myth, or
work of art, either directly or by implication.
Examples:
• Describing someone as a "Romeo" makes an allusion to the famous young
lover in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• The software included a Trojan Horse. (allusion on the Trojan horse from
Greek mythology)
• to wash one’s hands of it. (allusion on Pontius Pilatus, who sentenced Jesus
to death, but washed his hands afterwards to demonstrate that he was not
to blame for it.)
Tautology
is a statement that says the same thing twice in different ways, or a statement
that is unconditionally true by the way it is phrased.
Examples:
Forward planning.
It's a free gift.
My first priority is to buy food the children.
Onomatopoeia
is a word that phonetically imitates, resembles or suggests the source of the
sound that it describes.
Examples:
My brother can burp the alphabet.
Most cats purr if you pet them behind the ears.
Metonymy
word or phrase that is used to stand in for another word.

Examples:
The White House will be announcing the decision around noon today.

The restaurant has been acting quite rude lately.

Synecdoche
a part is put for the whole

Examples:
Beautiful are the feet that bring the good news.

India won by six wickets.