Figures of Speech

We use language primarily in two ways:

● Literally
● Figuratively
When we speak literally, we say what we mean and we mean what we say. For example, if I say
that the color of the curtains is blue, they are simply that – blue.
When we speak figuratively, we go beyond the literal meaning and use words to symbolize
emotions, concepts, et cetera.

Figures of speech are essentially using figurative language to express emotions, create an
impact, or just to enrich the language.

Let us take a look at some of the most commonly used figures of speech:

1. Simile:
Simile compares two things which may be similar, but not the same. Simile attempts to
provide a connection between two by comparing them, thus giving the reader a much
better understanding of it.

For example:
● White like snow
● Red as a tomato
● As straight as a ruler

It uses words like “as, like, so”.

2. Metaphor:
Metaphor also compares two things to make a connection, but it does not use words like
“as, like, so”.

For example:
● He is like a star. (simile)
● He is a star. (metaphor)
● She sings like an angel. (simile)
● She is an angel. (metaphor)
3. Personification:
Personification brings things to life. It gives inanimate objects the attributes of a person.
It helps the reader make an abstract thing more concrete.

For example:
● The winds howled near the river bank.
● The trees danced in the anticipation of rain.
● The food is calling me, and I must go!

4. Apostrophe:
Apostrophe is used to talk to an entity (animate or inanimate) as if they were present.

For example:
● Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
● Hello, Darkness, my old friend.

5. Hyperbole:
Are you someone who loves to exaggerate things for effect? Chances are you already
use this one a lot in your regular conversations. Hyperbole is a figure of speech that
exaggerates things for poetic effect.

For example:
● She is so dumb that she thought the Cold War was fought in the winters.
● Cry me a river.
● I am so tired that when I reach home, I’m just going to fall on my bed and not
wake up for a month!

6. Euphemism:
Euphemism is to sugarcoat things to remove a bit of the harsh effect it might have. It is
essentially to speak indirectly about something because saying it explicitly may sound
impolite or be hurtful.

For example:
● Her friend is simple-minded.
● His dog crossed the rainbow bridge.
● He is not known for his friendliness.
7. Epigram:
An epigram is a concise, clever, and often witty statement or poem that expresses an
idea in a brief and memorable way. It's characterized by brevity, wit, and sometimes
irony or satire. Epigrams are known for their clever twist or unexpected turn of phrase
that leaves a lasting impact on the reader. They can cover a wide range of subjects, from
humor and philosophy to social commentary. Famous writers like Oscar Wilde and Mark
Twain were known for their adept use of epigrams in their works.

For example:
● I can resist everything except temptation.
● A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you
actually look forward to the trip.
● The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

8. Antithesis:
Antithesis is used for when one wants to highlight the jarring contrast of two ideas.

For example:
● I hurt you in the now, but help you in the future!
● A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
● Old is gold, but new is diamond.

9. Irony:
Irony is when something happens in a way that's different from what you'd expect. There
are a few types:

Verbal Irony: This is when someone says something that's different from what they
actually mean. For example, if it's raining heavily and someone says, "What lovely
weather we're having!"

Situational Irony (or Dramatic Irony): This happens when you know something that
characters in a story don't, which creates tension or humor. Like in a scary movie when
the character goes into a dark room, and you know the monster is inside.

Irony of Fate: This is when something happens that's the opposite of what was
expected, almost like fate has a sense of humor. For instance, a fire station burns down.
10. Oxymoron:
Oxymoron is the placement of antonymous words alongside each other to create a
poetic effect.

For example:
● The bomb went off and all that remained was a deafening silence.
● The living dead are among us.
● It is usually rare for this to happen.

11. Paradox:
A paradox is a self-contradictory statement which speaks the truth. It seems
contradictory, yet it holds truth or logic within its contradiction. It's like saying something
that seems impossible but actually makes sense when you think about it.

For example:
● Less is more.
● One who has never sinned cannot become a saint.
● Courage is not the absence of fear.

12. Pun:
English is a language that has words that mean different things. A pun is basically a play
of those words to create a comedic effect.

For example:
● Why did the bicycle fall over? Because it was two-tired!
● I told my wife she should embrace her mistakes. She gave me a hug.
● I’ve got a lot of thyme on my hands!

13. Metonymy:
This figure of speech consists of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of
which it is an attribute or with which it is associated.

For example:
● The dish is still in the oven. (food)
● The Parliament issued a statement today. (ministers)
● He is much too fond of the red tape. (bureaucracy)
14. Synecdoche:
Synecdoche refers to a figure of speech in which the word for a part of something is
used to refer to the thing itself, or less commonly, when the word for a thing itself is used
to refer to part of that thing.

For example:
● Come, I’ll show you my new wheels! (car)
● All hands (workers who happen to have those hands) on deck.
● I have many mouths (people) to feed.

15. Climax:
The term "climax" can be used both as a figure of speech and in a narrative sense. As a
figure of speech, climax refers to the highest point of tension or intensity in a sequence
of events or in the development of an idea.

For example:
● She began as timid, then grew confident, and ultimately emerged as a fearless
leader.
● The building shook, trembled, and finally collapsed under the weight of the
earthquake.
● His laughter started as a chuckle, grew into a guffaw, and erupted into
uncontrollable, joyful hysteria.

16. Onomatopoeia:
These are sounds which are spelled out to make them more concrete in speaking or
writing.

For example:
● Ow!
● Phew!
● Boom!

17. Alliteration:
Alliteration is the repetition of the initial sound of words in a sentence. It makes the
sentence sound more cohesive and catchy.

For example:
 ● Betty made the bitter butter better.
● Adam’s apple
● Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

18. Assonance:
It is a literary device where the vowel sounds are repeated to create an internal rhyming
within sentences or phrases.

For example:
● Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
● uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

19. Consonance:
Consonance is a figure of speech in which the same consonant sound repeats within a
group of words.

For example:
● Traffic figures, on July Fourth, to be tough.
● Zach sneezed when he heard jazz music.

20. Allusion:
It is a figure of speech that makes direct reference to or represents famous people,
places, names, myths or art, within a confined piece of work. Allusions enhance the
artistic effect and thus, leave the reader to figure out the meaning, indications and then
relate to them. Allusions, however, should not be confused with plagiarism, which means
talking about a work of art without permission or crediting its creator.

For example:
● "She was breathtakingly beautiful, but he knew that she was forbidden fruit." This
is an example of an allusion in the story of Genesis of the Holy Bible.
● The main character was like Phoebe (from Friends)! She loved herself and didn’t
care if others thought she’s weird. The weirder the better!
● The main character was based on Britney Spears.
 21. Analogy
Just as one might use a simile to compare two things to show a similarity, an analogy is
a comparison of two similar or different things to give an example or prove a point. I just
used an analogy to explain analogies.

For example:
● She is as white as snow. (simile)
● Sita’s love for Ram was as vast as the ocean. (analogy - here love’s vastness is
being compared to that of the ocean as a comparison of measurement)
● Tiana cried like a baby. (simile)
● Tiana cried like a baby cries if he/she doesn’t get attention. (analogy)

An analogy uses similes and metaphors to make its point clear.

22. Circumlocution:
Circumlocution is the use of deliberately using many words when just one word could
suffice. This is generally done to lend an air of mystery to the subject.

For example:
● She is economical with the truth. (liar)
● Her friends are those who reside in the forest. (animals)
● You-know-who is coming to the party tonight. (a person)
● The-one-who-shall-not-be-named just asked me about you the other day. ( a
person – probably someone you don’t like)

23. Litotes:
They say two negatives make a positive. Well, the same is true even for language.

For example:
● You’re not wrong. (You’re right.)
● I’m not not angry with you. (I’m angry with you.)
● She’s not unfriendly. (She’s friendly)

24. Pleonasm:
Pleonasm is the use of more words than are necessary to convey a meaning. This could
be done by the author to bring a funny comedic effect to the writing or to highlight the
emphasis. (See what I did there?)
 For example:
● I saw it with my own eyes.
● She has a blended smoothie every morning. (Smoothies already mean blended.)
● I got some free gifts at the exhibition!

25. Understatement:
Understatement is the intentional downplaying of a situation. This can create a
humorous or deadpan effect in writing.

For example:
● A famous joke from Monty Python: “Tis but a scratch.” “A scratch? Your arm’s
off!”
● Oh, life is good. Just that I got fired from my job, my wife left me, and I got
cancer. But c’est la vie, am I right?

26. Anastrophe:
Anastrophe is the deliberate changing of normal word order for emphasis or another
poetic effect.

For example:
● On a black cloak sparkle the stars.
● Powerful you have become. The dark side I sense in you.

27. Chiasmus:
The word chiasmus derives from the Greek word for “crossing” or “X-shaped.” A
chiasmus is a two-part sentence or phrase, where the second part is a mirror image of
the first. The second part of the sentence has an inverse structure to the first part.

For example:
● If black men have no rights in the eyes of the white men, of course, the whites
can have none in the eyes of the blacks.
● Love without end, and without measure Grace.
● Despised, if ugly; if she's fair, betrayed.
28. Antimetabole:
Antimetabole is a figure of speech in which a phrase is repeated, but with the order of
words reversed. Unlike Chiasmus, Antimetabole reuses the same words but in inverse
order.

Pronunciation: an-tee-met-ab-oh-lee

For example:
● Bawarchi, a famous Rajesh Khanna film, has a beautiful quote: “It is so simple to
be happy but so difficult to be simple.”
● John F. Kennedy's words, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what
you can do for your country,"
● The French work to live, whereas Americans live to work.

29. Allegory:

Allegory is a figure of speech that involves using characters, events, or elements in a

narrative to symbolically represent abstract ideas, moral principles, or historical events. It
goes beyond the literal meaning of the words or events and operates on a symbolic
level. In allegory, the characters or elements often represent something else, allowing for
a deeper, hidden meaning or message to be conveyed.

For example:
● In George Orwell's "Animal Farm," the animals represent different figures and
ideas from the Russian Revolution and subsequent political developments.
● In Narnia, the character of Aslan the lion represents Christ, and the battle
between good and evil in Narnia reflects larger spiritual themes.

30. Zeugma:
Zeugma is a figure of speech where a single word, often a verb or an adjective, is used
to modify or govern two or more words, but it must make literal sense with only one of
them. Essentially, it involves a word or phrase that applies to more than one part of a
sentence, but the application is grammatically or logically correct in only one instance.

For example:
● She opened the door and her heart to the orphan.
● The storm sank the boat and their hopes.
● He lost his keys and his temper.
31. Catachresis:

Catachresis is a figure of speech that involves the use of a word or phrase in a way
that's not traditionally or literally appropriate, stretching the meaning of the word beyond
its normal usage. It's often seen as a form of metaphor or analogy taken to an extreme
or used in an unconventional manner.
For example:
● He drank in the words of wisdom.
● The idea blossomed in her mind.
● She wore her heart on her sleeve.

32. Anthimeria:
This figure of speech involves using one part of speech as another, such as using a
noun as a verb or vice versa.

For example:
● I hate adulting!
● Just Google it.
● He authored several novels.