1. Figurative Devices

2. ALLUSION
reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

3. IDIOM
an expression that is natural to a native speaker; the meaning is not deduced from the definition of the individual words
Example:
It’s raining cats and dogs.
He’s a fair-weather friend.

4. METAPHOR
a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else
Example:
You are a rock.
“Conscience is a man's compass.”

5. OXYMORON
an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined
Example:
pretty ugly
jumbo shrimp
A lively corpse

6. PARALLELISM
use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter.
Example:
I came, I saw, I conquered.
He was dedicated, determined, and driven.

7. PERSONIFICATION
a figure of speech in which human characteristics are given to an animal/object

8. SIMILE
a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two subjects using either like or as

9. ALLITERATION
the repetition of the same initial letter, sound, or group of sounds in a series of words
Example:
Tiny Tim talked to Terry.
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

10. ANTITHESIS a statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced
Example:
That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

11. ANAPHORA
the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences
Example:
My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration.

12. APOSTROPHE
a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or some abstraction

13. ASSONANCE
The repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sequence of nearby words. ​
Example:
Alfred, Lord Tennyson creates assonance with the “o” sound in this line from “The Lotus-Eaters”: “All day the wind breathes low with mellower tone.”

14. ASYNDETON/SYNDETON
stylistic device used to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between the phrases and in the sentence, yet maintain the grammatical accuracy. Used between words or phrases, or used between sentences and clauses
Example:
“Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?”, "Without looking, without making a sound, without talking"

15. CLICHE an over-used expression Example: It’s not you; it’s me.
Life has many twists and turns.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.

16. CACOPHONY
use of words with sharp, harsh, hissing and unmelodious sounds primarily those of consonants to achieve desired results.
Example:
I detest war because cause of war is always trivial

17. CHIASMUS
Two phrases in which the syntax is the same but the placement of words is reversed.​
Example:
Alexander Pope’s The Dunciad  “A wit with dunces and a dunce with wit.”

18. CONSONANCE
the repetition of similar consonant sounds in a sequence of nearby words.
Example:
The lint was sent with the tent—repetition of “nt” sound

19. EUPHEMISM
an expression that substitutes or softens the meaning of a certain condition
Example:
“passed away” vs. die
“senior citizens” vs. old people

20. HYPERBOLE an exaggeration that is so dramatic it is not believable
Example:
I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.

21. LITOTES
a form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite
Example:
“Not a bad idea”
“It isn’t very serious.

22. MALAPROPISM
Misusing words to create a comic effect or characterize the speaker as being too confused, ignorant, or flustered to use correct diction. ​
Example:
“Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons." (apprehended, suspicious)
Saying “pacifically” instead of “specifically”

23. METONYMY
replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated.
Example:
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears
using “suits” instead of “businessmen”

24. ONOMATOPOEIA
the use of a word to describe or imitate a natural sound made by an object or action
Example:
snap, crackle, pop

25. PARADOX
a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly but may include a latent truth. It is also used to illustrate an opinion or statement contrary to accepted traditional ideas.
Example:
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery

26. POLYSYNDETON addition of multiple conjunctions Example:
“He eats and sleeps and drinks.”

27. RHETORICAL QUESTION
A question that is asked not to elicit a response but to make an impact or call attention to something. ​
Rhetorical questions ask for thought, not answers.