This document defines and provides examples of various figures of speech including metonymy, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, paradox, personification, pleonasm, pun, simile, synecdoche, and understatement. Metonymy is when one word stands in for a closely related word, like "Hollywood" standing in for movies. Onomatopoeia uses words that imitate sounds, like "hiss" and "boom." An oxymoron combines contradictory terms, like "awfully good." A paradox contains some truth despite appearing contradictory, such as "the more you fail, the more likely you are to succeed."

1. FIGURES OF SPEECH
LESSON 4

2. 10. METONYMY
• Metonymy is a literary device in which a word or
object stands in for a closely related word or
object.
• Metonymy gives a writer more variability with
descriptions.
• Example:
• I thought his movies were better when they
weren’t so Hollywood.
• “Pen” stands for the “written word.”
• “Sword” stands for “military aggression.”

3. 11. ONOMATOPOEIA
• Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it
means.
• Example:
• “Hiss” – sound for the snake
• “Boom” – sound for an explosion
• “Buzz” – sound of the bees

4. 13. OXYMORON
• An oxymoron is a phrase that uses two
contradictory words to create a new meaning.
• Example:
• The strawberry cake was awfully good.

5. 14. Paradox
• A paradox is a statement that appears to
contradict itself but contains some truth, theme,
or humor.
• Example:
• “All animals are equal, but some animals are
more equal that others”
• “The more you fail, the more likely you are to
succeed.”

6. 15. PERSONIFICATION
• Personification is assigning human attributes to
nonhuman things.
• Examples:
• The floorboards groaned under the weight of
each step.
• The thunders are roaring because of the typhoon.

7. 16. PLEONASM
• Pleonasm is the use of more words that
necessary to convey meaning. A writer might use
pleonasm for humor or emphasis, or they might
not realize they’re using extra words at all.
• Examples:
• The burning fire warmed the whole house.
• I saw it with my whole eyes.
• I hear it with my own ears.

8. 17. PUN
• A pun is a form of wordplay that purposely
substitutes words that sound similar but have
different meanings.
• Examples:
• I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. I can’t put it
down.
• Broken pencils are pointless.
• I wanted to buy a camouflage pants, but I could
not find it.

9. 18. SIMILE
• Simile compares two dissimilar things using “like”
or “as.” The goal of simile is to give the reader a
more vivid understanding of something.
• Examples:
• You are beautiful like a rose.
• My husband is handsome as Daniel Padilla

10. 19. SYNECDOCHE
• Synecdoche is when a smaller unit is used to
signify a larger unit or vice versa.
• Examples:
• The word “bread” can be used to represent food.
(I’m looking forward to breaking bread with you.)
• The word “wheels” refer to a vehicle. (Let’s take
my new wheels out for a spin.)

11. 20. UNDERSTATEMENT
• Understatement is the intentional downplaying of
a situation. This can create a humorous or
deadpan effect in writing.
• Examples:
• “ I have to have this operation. It is not very
serious at all. I have this tiny little tumor on my
brain.”
• “It is little heavy. (Said by someone that carrying a
piano up a flight of stairs.)