Figures of Speech: A Comprehensive Guide

Figures of Speech

Figures by Repetition of Sounds

Alliteration

Repetition of a sound or syllable to achieve a musical or sound effect.

Onomatopoeia

Alliteration in which the sound evokes the thing being described.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or words at the beginning of several lines or phrases to emphasize an idea or mark grammatical patterns.

Epiphora

Repetition of a word or words at the end of several lines or phrases to create a repetitive effect.

Concatenation (Anadiplosis)

Repetition at the beginning of a phrase or line of the word that ended the previous phrase or line.

Epanadiplosis

Repetition of the same word at the beginning and end of a line or sentence.

Reduplication

Repetition within a phrase or line of one or more words to reinforce the strength of an idea.

Rhyme

Repetition at the end of a line of the same sounds (vowel or consonant).

Similicadencia

In prose, using words that rhyme with one another. In verse, using rhymes that are phonetically similar but not identical.

Figures for Morphological Resources

Neologism

Creating a new word whose meaning can be understood from the context.

Archaism

Use of a word no longer in common use to give a sense of antiquity.

Ellipsis

Omission of a word or phrase that is grammatically necessary but can be understood from the context.

Pleonasm

Use of redundant words for emphasis or clarity.

Epithet

Unnecessary attribution of an adjective to a noun that already possesses the quality denoted.

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions to give more liveliness and speed to the text.

Polysyndeton

Accumulation of conjunctions to emphasize the accumulation of ideas or objects.

Hyperbaton

Disorderly construction of a sentence to draw attention or create a poetic effect.

Parallelism

Construction of two or more sentences or lines with the same word order.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked for effect, not requiring an answer.

Apostrophe/Invocation

A direct address to a person or thing, often absent or imaginary.

Correlation

Construction in which several phrases or expressions are fragmented across different lines.

Exclamation

Passionate expression of feelings.

Reluctance/Suspension

Interruption of a sentence to create uncertainty or suspense.

Periphrasis

Indirect expression of an idea, concept, or object.

Chiasmus

Using two identical syntactic constructions with the terms reversed.

Zeugma

Omission of a word that should appear in different parts of a sentence, appearing only once.

Heterogeneous/Complex Coordination Zeugma

Succession of coordinated items where the last one breaks the logical enumeration.

Figures for Pun

Dilogia/Equivoque

Using a word with multiple meanings to create ambiguity.

Pun

A play on words combining two words that sound alike to create a different meaning.

Poliptoton

Repetition of words derived from the same root.

Paronomasia

Use of two words that are phonetically similar but have unrelated meanings.

Antimetabole

Repetition of a sentence with reversed terms to create an opposite meaning.

Euphemism

Substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive.

Dysphemism

Using a harsh, blunt, or offensive term instead of a more polite one.

Semantic Figures

Simile/Comparison

Explicit comparison between two things using “like” or “as.”

Antithesis

Contrasting two opposite ideas or words in a parallel structure.

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory but may contain a truth.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.

Irony

Expressing the opposite of what is meant.

Synecdoche

Referring to something by naming one of its parts, or vice versa.

Metonymy

Referring to something by naming something closely associated with it.

Metaphor

Implicit comparison between two unlike things.

Allegory

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning.

Synesthesia

Using an adjective referring to one sense to describe something perceived by another sense.

Enumeration

Listing several items in quick succession.

Gradation

Listing items in order of increasing or decreasing importance.

Personification/Prosopopoeia

Attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract concepts.

Synonymy

Using words with similar meanings to reinforce an idea.

Litotes

Expressing an idea by negating its opposite.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for emphasis or effect.

Maxim/Aphorism

A short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.

Descriptive Figures

Prosopography

Physical description of a character.

Ethopoeia

Description of a character’s personality and moral qualities.

Portrait

Combined physical and moral description of a character.

Topography

Description of a place or landscape.