Figurative Language Flash Cards

Simile: Comparison of two things using “like” or “as.” The metal twisted like a ribbon. She is as sweet as candy. Metaphor: Two things are compared without using “like” or “as.” All the world is a stage. Men are dogs. Her heart is stone. Personification: Giving human traits to objects or ideas. The sunlight danced. Water on the lake shivers. The streets are calling me.

Onomatopoeia: A word that “makes” a sound SPLAT PING SLAM POW Idiom: A saying that isn’t meant to be taken literally. Doesn’t “mean” what it says Don’t be a stick in the mud! You’re the apple of my eye. I have an ace up my sleeve. Pun:: A form of “word play” in which words have a double meaning. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger and then it hit me. I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put it down.

Alliteration: the repetition of a sound at the beginning of a word Oxymoron: When two words are put together that contradict each other. “Opposites” Jumbo Shrimp Pretty Ugly Freezer Burn Alliteration: the repetition of a sound at the beginning of a word She sells seashells by the sea shore. Allusion: a reference to a famous work of art/character/story in another piece of literature “star-crossed lovers”

Assonance: the repetition of the sound of a vowel The purple curtain furled in the wind. Cliché: a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought. “until the cows come home” Consonance: the recurrence of similar sounds, especially consonants, in close proximity s

Euphemism: a polite word or phrase used in place of an offensive or crude word or phrase “Oh cheese and crackers!” Imagery: the use of if figurative language to paint a sensory picture for the reader (all five senses) The soft wind blew over the rolling hills, bringing the scent of decaying flowers from the cemetery to waft through the house. Irony: the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect Johnny had killed someone. Quiet, soft-spoken, little Johnny, who wouldn’t hurt a living thing on purpose, had taken a human life.

Hyperbole: Exaggerating to show strong feeling or effect. I will love you forever. My house is a million miles away. She’d kill me. Paradox: a statement that apparently contradicts itself and yet might be true Your enemy’s friend is your enemy Analogy: compares similar concepts characters, or works of literature so the reader better understands a difficult idea Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence.