Commonly Used Figures of Speech

3. The actual, dictionary meaning of a
word; language that means what it
appears to mean
Avoiding exaggeration & metaphor
Conforming to the most obvious
meaning of a word, phrase, sentence,
or story

4. In other words…
It means exactly what it says!
Word for word.
The U.S. is a large country.
The weather is beautiful
today.

5. Figurative means…
Language that goes beyond the
normal meaning of the words used
Based on or making use of figures of
speech; metaphorical
Represented by a figure or symbol

6. In other words…
Figure it out! There’s a deeper
meaning hidden in the words.
Ex: Fragrance always stays in the hand
that gives the rose. -Hada Bejar
What does it mean?
Giving to others is gracious and the good feeling of
giving stays with you.

7. LITERAL FIGURATIVE
 The actual,
dictionary
meaning of a
word;
language that
means what it
appears to
mean.
 Language that
goes beyond
the normal
meaning of the
words used.

10. The repetition of usually initial
consonant sounds in two or
more neighboring words or
syllables.

11. ALLITERATION
“You'll never put a better bit of
butter on your knife.”
“I saw Susie sitting in a shoe
shine shop.
Where she sits she shines,
and where she shines she
sits.”

12. The repetition of a word or
phrase at the beginning of
successive clauses to
achieve an effect.

13. ANAPHORA
“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in
France, we shall fight on the seas and
oceans, we shall fight with growing
confidence and growing strength in the air,
we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost
may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we
shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall
fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall
fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

14. ANTITHESIS
An opposition or contrast of
ideas.
Two opposite ideas are put
together to achieve an
contrasting effect.

15. “Speech is silver, but silence is gold.”
“Love is an ideal thing, marriage
a real thing.”
“Many are called, but few are chosen.”

16. When you speak up into an
object, an idea, or
someone who doesn’t exist
as if it is a living person.

17. “Hello darkness, my old friend I've
come to talk with you again..”
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I
wonder what you are..”
“Oh, pillow, thank you for being my
shoulder when I’m alone.”

18. Identity or similarity in
sound between internal
vowels in neighboring
words.

19. "It beats as it sweeps as it cleans."
"Old age should burn and rave at close of
day; Rage, rage, against the dying of the
light.”
“Johnny went here and there and
everywhere.”

20. CHIASMUS
A verbal pattern in which the
second half of an expression
is balanced against the first
but with the parts reversed.

21. CHIASMUS
“I flee who chases me, and chase
who flees me.”
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”
“Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss
will fool you.”

22. EUPHEMISM
A mild or indirect word or
expression substituted for
one considered to be too
harsh or unpleasant.

23. “Pre-loved” for second hand.
“Passed away” instead of died.
“Sanitation engineer” instead of
garbage man.
“Healthy” instead of fat.

24. An extravagant statement; the
use of exaggerated terms for
the purpose of emphasis or
heightened effect.

25. “I am so hungry I could eat a horse.”
“I have a million things to do.”
“If I can’t buy that new game, I will die.”
“I'll love you, dear, I'll love you 'til China
and Africa meet.”

26. The use of words to convey the
opposite of their literal meaning.
A statement or situation where the
meaning is contradicted by the
appearance or presentation of the
idea.

27. Situational Irony – where actions or events have
opposite result from what is expected.
Verbal Irony – where someone says the
opposite of what they really mean or intend.
Dramatic Irony – occurs when the audience or
reader of a text knows something that the
characters do not.

28. A pilot with a fear of heights.
Saying “oh great” after failing the exam.
In horror movies, the audience were aware
that there is a killer in the house, but the
character does not.

29. A mild negative
understatement, intended
to suggest a strong
affirmative.

30. After seeing my report card, my father said in
no uncertain terms that I should start
studying.
A teacher tells a lazy student, “Your
performance in midterm is not bad at all, but
a little more attention to your studies won’t
hurt you.

31. Involves a comparison
between two relatively
unlike things without the
use of “like” or “as”

32. Time is a thief.
He has a heart of stone.
His head was spinning with ideas.
John is a real pig when he eats.
You are my sunshine.

33. METONYMY
A word or phrase that is
substituted for another
with which it is closely
associated

34. METONYMY
We watched Disney today. (director for his
work.)
It’s the rope for the criminal. (hanging
effect—death)
I don’t care what kind of colgate you use.
Malacañang declared the suspension of
classes.

35. The formation or use of words
that imitate the sounds
associated with the objects
or actions they refer to.

36. ONOMATOPOEIA
"Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is.”
The firecracker made a loud ka-boom!
Both bees and buzzers buzz.
The bird’s chirp filled the empty night air.

37. OXYMORON
A combination of two
mutually contradictory
words

38. “A yawn may be defined as a silent yell.”
“O miserable abundance, O beggarly riches!”
“That building is a little bit big and pretty ugly.”
“Cruel kindness”
“Living death”

39. A seemingly
contradictory but true
statement.

40. PARADOX
"War is peace."
"Freedom is slavery."
"Ignorance is strength."
You can save money by
spending it.

41. PERSONIFICATION
A figure of speech in which an
inanimate object or abstraction
is endowed with human
qualities or abilities.

42. PERSONIFICATION
The stars danced playfully in the moonlit
sky.
The first rays of morning tiptoed through
the meadow.
She did not realize that opportunity was
knocking at her door.

43. PUN
A play on words, sometimes on
different senses of the same
word and sometimes on the
similar sense or sound of
different words.

44. PUN
“When it rains, it pours.”
A horse is a very stable
animal.
Fruit flies like banana.

45. A stated comparison (usually
formed with "like" or "as")
between two fundamentally
dissimilar things that have
certain qualities in common.

46. My love is like a red, red rose.
You were as brave as a lion.
They fought like cats and dogs.
He is as funny as a barrel of monkeys.
He is skinny like a toothpick.

47. SYNECDOCHE
A figure of speech is which a part is
used to represent the whole, the
whole for a part, the specific for the
general, the general for the specific,
or the material for the thing made
from it.

48. SYNECHDOCHE
• His parents bought him a new set
of wheels.
• Give us this day our daily bread.
• “Take your face out.”
• Life is hard when you have eight
hungry mouths to feed.

49. A figure of speech in which a
writer or a speaker
deliberately makes a situation
seem less important or serious
than it is.

50. “I have to have this operation… It
isn't very serious. I have this tiny
little tumor on the brain.”
“I know a little about running a
company.” –comment by a
businessman

51. Prepare for a
quiz in Figures of
Speech

52. LOVE IS A DREAM
Love is a dream
Its gone as we wake up
Leaving some moments
To be cherished
Love is like a wind
It embraces us with passion
leaving the scent of fresh flowers
tingling our mind
Love is like a water bubble

53. Even rainbows are visible
But a tender touch will break it
Leaving a refreshing sprinkle
Love resembles a shadow
We try to escape but it follow
At times it makes us hollow
It disappears with the sun
And leave us in the Nights
To Haunt all over again
LOVE IS A DREAM