figures of speech

alliteration noun [uncountable] technical the use of several words together, all beginning with the same sound, in order to make a special effect, especially in poetry:

• The poem is relatively simple, but alliteration makes it interesting.

assonance noun [uncountable] technical similarity in the vowel sounds of words that are close together in a poem, for example between 'born' and 'warm':

• Wilfred Owen uses assonance rather than rhyme in most of his poems.

 

onomatopoeia noun [uncountable] technical the use of words that sound like the thing that they refer to. For example, 'hiss', which sounds like the air coming out of a tyre, or 'quack' for the sound made by a duck

onomatopoeic adjective:

• For your homework assignment, write a list of 20 onomatopoeic words.

 

metaphor noun [uncountable and countable] a way of describing something by referring to it as something different and suggesting that it has similar qualities to that thing:

• In such descriptions, the reader should be aware that Melville is writing in metaphors.

• She's been doing research into the nature and function of metaphor.

metaphorical adjective:

• the metaphorical use of the word

 

simile noun [uncountable and countable] an expression that describes something by comparing it with something else, using the words 'as' or 'like', for example 'as white as snow':

• Her use of simile makes the book a pleasure to read.

 

oxymoron noun [countable] technical a deliberate combination of two words that seem to mean the opposite of each other, such as 'cruel kindness'

 

paradox noun [countable] technical the use of statements that seem strange because they involve two ideas or qualities that are very different:

• the writer's clever use of irony and paradox

 

litotes noun [uncountable] technical saying something positive by using the negative of its opposite. For example, if you say "He is not unknown to me", you mean that you do know him.

 

irony noun [uncountable] the use of words that are the opposite of what you really mean, often in order to be amusing:

• the subtle play of irony and observation in Pushkin's poem

ironic adjective:

• an ironic comment

 

bathos noun [uncountable] technical in writing, a play etc, a sudden change from a subject that is beautiful, moral, or serious to something that is ordinary, silly, or not important:

• Skillfully using bathos, he converts the story into farce.

 

 

 

pun noun [countable] an amusing use of a word or phrase that has two meanings, or of words that have the same sound but different meanings:

• Shakespeare's comedies are full of puns and wordplay.

 

 

tautology noun [uncountable and countable] a statement in which you say the same thing twice using different words in a way which is not necessary, for example, 'He sat alone by himself.'

 

euphemism noun [uncountable and countable] a polite word or expression that you use instead of a more direct one to avoid shocking or upsetting someone, for example saying that someone "passed away" when you mean that they died

euphemistic adjective

 

circumlocution noun [uncountable and countable] the practice of using too many words to express an idea, instead of saying it directly

 

hyperbole noun [uncountable and countable] a way of describing something by saying it is much bigger, smaller, worse etc than it actually is:

• a speech full of passion and hyperbole

 

personification noun [uncountable and countable] the representation of a thing or a quality as a person, in literature or art

 

rhetorical question noun [countable] a question that you ask as a way of making a statement, without expecting an answer:

• "Why did you steal it?" It was not a rhetorical question, but Jeremy sat silent, not attempting an answer.

 

ellipsis noun [uncountable] technical the practice of deliberately not including one or more words in a sentence that can still be understood by the reader because the context makes the meaning clear. For example, "We saluted them, and they us" means "We saluted them, and they saluted us":

• There are several instances of ellipsis in this text.

 

apposition noun [uncountable] technical an occasion when a simple sentence contains two or more noun phrases that describe the same thing or person, appearing one after the other without a word such as 'and' or 'or' between them. For example, in the sentence 'The defendant, a woman of thirty, denies kicking the policeman' the two phrases 'the defendant' and 'a woman of thirty' are in apposition:

• The use of apposition can provide supplementary information neatly and elegantly.

 

cliché noun [countable] an idea or phrase that has been used so much that it is not effective or no longer has any meaning:

• You should try to eradicate clichés from your written work.

clichéd adjective:

• The book presents a very clichéd view of Africa.