Figures of Speech

Meaning | Definition

A figure of speech is a phrase or word used in a non-literal sense

for rhetorical or rich effect. It is an expression that is different
from its literal meaning.

A figure of speech is a way of describing something or someone

interestingly and vividly. The words or phrases may not mean
exactly what they suggest, but they paint a clear picture in the
mind of the reader or listener. A figure of speech can be in the
form of a phrase or a single word. The figures of speech are also
knowns as rhetorical figures.

Figure of speech is easier to understand than an idiom as you do

not have to be familiar with the language to decipher it. Every
language has its figures of speech and idioms that are own to
that language. They are used to make writing more interesting.

There are many types of figures of speech in the English

language, but we are going to learn the most common types.

1. Alliteration

Alliteration is a figure of speech in which two usually consecutive

words begin with the same consonant sound but not always the
same latter.

The word doesn’t always have to be right next to each other, but
when you say or read them, the sound is repeated.

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For example, four fabulous fish and go and gather the flowers on
the grass.
Alliteration helps us to make what we say or write more
interesting to listen to or read. Writers and poets use alliteration
to make their writing memorable and fun to read. Read the list of
alliterative phrases below.

Alliteration Examples

1. cold coffee can cause complications.

2. happy Harry
3. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
4. She sells sea shells on the sea shore
5. Becky’s beagle barked and bayed, which bothered Billy
6. Donald Duck
7. Jackrabbits jump and jiggle jauntily.

2. Metaphors

We use metaphors all the time. Suppose when your Mummy says,
“This house is a zoo!” she doesn’t mean that it is the place where
animal lives. She just means that everyone in the house is as
noisy as a bunch of animals would be.

She’s using the zoo as a metaphor for the house, she’s describing
the house as if were a zoo, to make the comparison clear.

It’s great fun to use metaphors because they make what we say
more colourful and people can understand what we are trying to
tell them better.

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Metaphors Examples

Look at this list of metaphors and what they mean. It will get you
started.

1. dirty pig – very filthy

2. having two left feet – very bad dancer
3. to get cold feet – to become nervous
4. to be an early bird – to reach first or earliest
5. pearls of wisdom – wise words

3. Personification

Personification is giving human qualities to something that may

not be human, or even alive.

For example, when you say: “The flowers nodded their head
cheerfully.”
What you mean here is that the flowers moved about in the wind
looking as if they were cheerful and happy. You’re imagining
that the flowers have human emotions.

Personification Examples

1. laughing flowers
2. howling wind
3. smiling sun
4. opportunity knocking at the door
5. shoe bite

4. Onomatopoeia

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This is a big word that just means words that imitate
sounds. Pitter-patter is an example of onomatopoeia. It mimics
the sound of rain or maybe little feet.
The word tinkle is also onomatopoeia. It mimics the sound of a
bell or falling water.

We use onomatopoeia all the time in our everyday speech. Poets

and writers use this figure of speech to make their writing more
expressive too.

Onomatopoeia Examples

1. zoom
2. beep
3. groan
4. boom
5. click
6. clip-clop
7. ding-dong

8. I could hear the leaves rustling and the wind howling.

9. Bam! He hit the truck at the speed of 80 kmph.

5. Similes

A simile is a figure of speech in which two things are directly

compared. We use the word like or as to make the comparison.

1. as dark as the night

2. as cool as a cucumber
3. fought like cats and dogs
4. eat like a horse

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The four phrases above are all similes. The beauty of a simile is
that it helps us imagine clearly what the writer is trying to say.
Poets and writers use similes to make their writing come alive.

Similes Examples

1. as blind as a bat
2. as bold as brass
3. as bright as a button
4. as black as coal
5. as clear as crystal
6. as cold as ice
7. as cool as a cucumber

6. Oxymoron

An oxymoron brings two conflicting ideas together. We use them

to draw attention from the reader/listener. Two words with
apparently contradictory meanings are combined to form a new
word that is more in conjunction.
Oxymoron Examples

1. alone together
2. deafening silence
3. bittersweet
4. living dead

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 7. Hyperbole

Hyperbole means using exaggerated statements for effect. The

media and politicians often use hyperbole to make their articles
or speeches more attention grabbing or seem more important
bigger, better and more interesting.
Hyperbole Examples

1. I have told you a million times not to get your shoes dirty.
2. Jake’s mum always cooks enough food to feed an army.
3. What have you got in this suitcase; it weighs a ton?
4. I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

8. Cliché

(we say klishe)

This is when a phrase is overused and loses impact and lacks

original thought. Using a cliche can be seen as old fashioned or
even a sign of poor writing as they are expressions that have
been used too often and are no longer relevant or interesting.

Cliché Examples

1. A women’s place is in the kitchen.

2. And they all lived happily ever after.
3. All that glitters is not gold.
4. All is fair in love and war.

9. Repetition

Repetition is when a word or phrase is repeated for effect or

emphasis. Teachers often teach things like times tables by

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repetition and musicians repeat choruses in songs. A good
example is Martin Luther King’s – ‘I have a dream’ speech.
Repetition Examples

1. I’m telling you I won’t do it; I simply won’t do it.

2. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
3. He told me about it, years and years and years ago.
4. Home sweet home.

10. Rhetorical Questions

This type of question doesn’t require an answer as it has been

phrased in a way that assumes the reader or listener knows the
answer. Public speakers and politicians use rhetorical questions
for dramatic effect or to get a point across and not because they
expect an answer. The answer is usually obvious, or they think it
is.
Rhetorical Question Examples

1. Can pigs fly?

2. Is the Pope a Catholic?
3. Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?
4. We don’t need any more failure, do we?

11. Rhyme

This is when words have a similar ending sound. It is usually

seen most often in poetry and song lyrics but is also in
advertising and public speeches. The rhyming words stand out.
Rhyme Examples

1. Try before you buy.

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2. 7-eleven
3. Birds of a feather, stick together.
4. Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo.

12. Euphemism

A euphemism is an indirect or innocuous word or phrase used

instead of something considered unpleasant, harsh or sensitive,
or embarrassing. It is often intended to amuse or downplay
something that the speaker deems offensive or upsetting
somehow. They may be used to cover profanity or sensitive
subjects such as gender, disability, and death in a polite manner.
Euphemism Examples

1. Friendly fire (attack from allied forces)

2. He is telling us a tall story (a lie)
3. Senior citizen (old person)
4. Staff restructure (making people redundant)

13. Epigram

An epigram is a clever, witty, or satirical phrase or line of poetry.

It is usually expressing an ingenious, paradoxical, memorable, or
amusing idea.
Epigram Examples

1. I can resist everything but temptation – Oscar Wilde

2. There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and
that is not being talked about.
3. Winners never quit, and quitters never win.
4. For most of history, Anonymous was a woman – Virginia
Woolf

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 14. Irony – (Sarcasm)

A subtle form of humour involving words opposing to what is

actually meant. Irony can fall into three categories.

Verbal irony – Saying one thing and meaning something else,

usually the opposite of what is said.
Example: Saying that you couldn’t possibly eat another thing,
then reaching for some more cake.
Dramatic irony – This is when the audience is more aware of the
plotline than the characters.
Example: In Shakespeare’s Macbeth – While Duncan thinks
Macbeth is faithful to him, Macbeth is actually plotting to murder
him. The audience knows this, but Duncan doesn’t.
Situational irony – This is when something happens that is
completely contrary to what is expected. Often with an element
of shock or surprise.
Example: winning the lottery and dying the day after. (Listen to
Ironic by Alanis Morrisette for many more examples)
Source: www.theidioms.com

15. Assonance

Assonance is the repetition of the same vowel sounds in a phrase

or sentence.
Assonance Examples

1. We received three emails each week.

2. The rain in Spain, stays mainly on the plain. (From the
musical ‘My Fair Lady’)

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3. Hear the mellow wedding bells. (The Bells – Edgar Allen
Poe)

16. Consonance

Consonance is the repetition of the same consonant sound in a

phrase or sentence.
Consonance Examples

1. The rain pitter pattered in the puddle.

2. The cook cooked the cutest cupcakes.
3. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

17. Analogy

A way of comparing things based on ways they are similar. This

is to show the similarity without explaining.
Analogy Examples

1. Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you

are going to get. (From Forrest Gump)
2. He is strong as an ox.
3. She’s as quiet as a mouse.

18. Paradox

Paradox is a statement containing two opposing facts that seems

impossible, contradictory or absurd but might turn out to be
true.

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Paradox Examples

1. I must be cruel, only to be kind—Hamlet by Shakespeare.

2. Nobody goes to the seaside at the weekend, because it’s too
crowded.
3. Youth is wasted on the young.

19. Parentheses

Something that is added to a statement to provide extra

information or an explanation. This is often separated from the
main clause by brackets, commas, or dashes.
Parentheses Examples

1. His older brother, the one with six kids, will be visiting next
week.
2. Sean Mullins (last year’s winner) is the current favourite to
win.
3. The singer – and her backing band – arrived two hours late.

20. Exclamation

A statement punctuated with an exclamation mark is conveying

strong emotion or excitement.
Exclamation Examples

1. Ouch! That really hurt!

2. You just made me jump out of my skin!
3. It’s a girl!

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