Figures of speech

A figure of speech is a word or phrase used in a way that differs from its literal meaning, to create an effect. It may compare (“as brave as a lion”), exaggerate (“a million times”), contrast (“deafening silence”) or play with sound (“Peter Piper picked…”). Writers use figures of speech to make language vivid, memorable and persuasive.

The eight most commonly taught figures of speech are simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia, oxymoron and irony. The first four compare or exaggerate; alliteration and onomatopoeia work through sound; oxymoron and irony work through contrast. Some textbooks swap in pun, euphemism or idiom, so lists of eight are not identical everywhere.

There is no fixed number. Classical rhetoric names more than 200 devices, but school grammars usually teach between 8 and 25. Older Indian grammars list about 19, including apostrophe, antithesis, epigram and transferred epithet. This page covers 25, which is every figure a school, college or competitive exam is likely to ask for.

Twenty common ones are simile, metaphor, personification, apostrophe, hyperbole, litotes, euphemism, antithesis, oxymoron, paradox, irony, pun, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, metonymy, synecdoche, transferred epithet, anaphora and climax. Each has a one-line example in the chart at the top of this page, for instance “Time is a thief” for metaphor and “All hands on deck” for synecdoche.

Both compare two unlike things. A simile says one thing is like another, using like or as: “Her eyes shone like diamonds.” A metaphor says one thing is another, with no comparing word: “Her eyes were diamonds.” If you can find like or as doing the comparing, it is a simile.

It is a simile, because the comparison is made with the word like: your sleep is compared to a baby’s. The metaphor version would drop the comparing word, for example “I was a log last night.” The quick test is always the same: like or as means simile.

Personification gives human actions, feelings or qualities to something that is not human. “The wind whispered through the trees”, “The sun smiled on us” and “My laptop refuses to work” are all personification, because wind cannot whisper, the sun cannot smile and a laptop cannot refuse. It makes descriptions feel alive.

All three repeat sounds. Alliteration repeats the first consonant sound of nearby words (“big blue bubbles”). Assonance repeats a vowel sound anywhere in the words (“the rain in Spain”). Consonance repeats a consonant sound in the middle or at the end (“lumpy, bumpy”). Listen for the sound, not the spelling.

An oxymoron is two opposite words side by side: “deafening silence”, “bittersweet”, “open secret”. A paradox is a whole statement that seems to contradict itself but turns out to be true: “Less is more”, “You have to spend money to save money”. An oxymoron is a phrase; a paradox is an idea.

Metonymy names something by a thing connected to it: “the Crown” for the monarch, “the kettle is boiling” for the water. Synecdoche names something by one of its parts, or a part by the whole: “all hands on deck” for sailors, “a new set of wheels” for a car. If it is a physical part, it is synecdoche.

Not quite. Verbal irony is saying the opposite of what you mean: “Lovely weather!” in a storm. Sarcasm is verbal irony used to mock or hurt someone: “Oh, brilliant idea.” Irony also has two types that sarcasm does not cover: situational irony (a fire station burning down) and dramatic irony (the audience knows what a character does not).

A transferred epithet moves an adjective from the person it really describes to a nearby noun. In “a sleepless night”, the person is sleepless, not the night. Other examples are “a careless mistake”, “a happy morning” and “an anxious wait”. Indian school and competitive exams ask for it often, and it is also called hypallage.

Yes, in the broad sense: an idiom is a fixed phrase whose meaning is not literal, such as “break the ice”. The difference is that an idiom is a ready-made expression you learn whole, while a simile or a metaphor can be invented fresh. Our idioms and phrases list gives 72 of them with meanings and examples.

Figurative language is any non-literal use of words; a figure of speech is one named type of it, such as a simile. Poetic devices and literary devices are wider groups: they include every figure of speech plus tools that are not figures at all, such as rhyme, rhythm, imagery, symbolism and refrain.

Ask four questions in order. Is something being compared (simile, metaphor, personification)? Is something exaggerated or played down (hyperbole, litotes, euphemism)? Are opposites involved (oxymoron, antithesis, paradox, irony)? Is a sound repeated or imitated (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia)? Then check the detail: like or as means simile, a human verb with a non-human subject means personification.

Because a picture is quicker than an explanation. “The exam hall was a pressure cooker” gives the heat, the tension and the feeling of being trapped in six words. Figures of speech add emphasis, emotion, humour and rhythm, and they make a sentence easier to remember, which is why poems, speeches, adverts and headlines are full of them.

Use them lightly. One fresh comparison or a rhetorical question can lift an essay, but worn-out phrases (“since the dawn of time”, “at the end of the day”) and heavy exaggeration weaken an argument. In formal and test writing, clear literal sentences should carry the points, with a figure of speech only where it adds meaning.

No question asks you to name one, but you meet them constantly. Reading passages use metaphors and personification, conversations in Interactive Listening use irony, understatement and euphemism, and a well-chosen simile makes a photo description more precise. Understanding the non-literal meaning is what the test rewards; the label is not needed.