Figurative Language Flashcards
Metaphor
Definition: comparing to things without using like or as
Ex: her hair is silk
Simile
Definition: comparing two things using like or as
Ex: your teeth are as shiny as a diamond
Personification
Definition: giving a non living object person like characteristics
Ex: the wind runs through my hair
Hyperbole
Definition: an exaggeration
Ex: it is a million degrees outside
Understatement
Definition: to make something sound less important then it really is; an expression with less than expected strength (opposite hyperbole)
Ex: when you win 10 million dollars and tell a reporter that “you are delighted to win”
Onomatopoeia
Definition: a word that imitates the natural sound of a thing
Ex: pop, bang
Idiom
Definition: a saying that we can’t take literally
Ex: it’s raining cats and dogs
Pun
Definition: play on words
Ex: I’m glad I know sign language it comes in handy
Oxymoron
Definition: A phrase that combines two incompatible words
Ex: ugly diamond, the walking dead, Great Depression
Tone
Definition: the authors attitude towards a story
Ex: happy, sad, intense
Mood
Definitions: the readers feelings
Ex: excited
Theme
Definition: the main purpose or important message of the story; the moral of the story
Ex: true love, vampires
Alliteration
Definition: the repetition of a letter in a sentence
Ex: piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Imagery
Definition: a group of words that give you a vivid description, so you could create a picture in your mind
Ex: the extremely hot apple pie was made from the red ripe apples growing on the tree in the backyard.
Proverb
Definition: a short popular saying; a figurative saying in which a bit of wisdom is given
Ex: an apple a day keeps the doctor away
