Meaning of Words Flashcards
Onomatopoeia
Using words that make the sound of what the text is describing
EX: The buzzing bee flew into the room.
Analogy
Comparisons between two things, often to drive home a point.
EX: “That’s as useful as rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.”
Irony
An incongruity between what the reader expects the author to mean and what they actually mean.
Context Clues/Contextual Analysis
Using the words before and after an unknown word to determine its meaning.
EX: It was a beautiful day that made it idyllic for swimming.
Connotation
The implied meaning of a word; the feeling a word conveys
Personification
Giving human traits to inanimate, non-living objects.
EX: The stars seemed to dance in the glow of the moon.
Oxymoron
Using contradictory terms in conjunction with each other.
EX: Walking dead or disgustingly delicious
Semantic Mapping
A form of scaffolding which helps students to develop connections among words
Metaphor
Making a comparison of two or more things without using the words “like” or “as”
EX: Life is a bowl of cherries.
Simile
Making a comparison of two or more things including the use of the words “like” or “as”
EX: My brother was as strong as an ox.
Analogies
Are used to compare two things that are usually thought of as different but have something in common
EX: Hand is to glove as foot is to sock
Denotative Meaning
A literal, dictionary meaning of a word
Idiom
A phrase or expression that does not mean the same as the literal words
EX: “Break a leg”, “Back to the drawing board”, “Spill the beans”
Figurative Language
A word or phrase that does not have its normal everyday, literal meaning
EX: Hyperbole: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!
Homophones
Words that are pronounced the same as another word but have a different meaning and may be spelled differently
EX: carat, carrot, caret; too, to, two
Alliteration
A sentence or phrase in which most of the beginning letters or sounds begin with the same consonant sound
EX: Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Hyperbole
To exaggerate or overstate something that is being described.
EX: Some of my clothes seem as old as the hills.
Homographs
Words that have the same spelling as another word but have different meaning
EX:
Tired meaning fatigue (verb)
Tire meaning a rubber cushion that fits around a wheel of an automobile (noun)
Symbolism
When an item stands for an idea or larger meaning. Usually used throughout a piece of literature.
EX: Doves=peace; black=death
Antonyms
Words with the opposite meaning
EX: hot/cold; big/little
Synonyms
Words with the same or a similar meaning
EX: angry/mad/furious
