TERM
Alliteration
Allusion
Analogy
Assonance
Cliché
Consonance
Euphemism
Hyperbole
Idiom
Imagery
DEFINITION
recurrence of initial consonant sounds
reference to an event, literary work, or
person
compares two different things that have
similar characteristics
the repetition of identical or similar vowel
sounds found within or at the end of words
and phrases
An expression that has been used so often
that its meaning and impact are no longer
effective.
the repetition of identical or similar
consonant sounds found within or at the end
of words and phrases
a polite word or phrase used in place of an
offensive or crude word or phrase.
an exaggeration
a group of words established as having a
meaning not deducible from those of the
individual words (it's raining cats and dogs)
visually descriptive or figurative language,
especially in a literary work
Irony
the expression of one's meaning using
language that normally signifies the opposite,
typically for humorous or emphatic effect
Metaphor
compares two things by stating one is the
other
Onomatopoeia
words that imitate the sound they describe
Oxymoron
a two-word paradox
A statement or proposition that, despite
sound (or apparently sound) reasoning
premises, leads to a conclusion that seems
senseless, logically unacceptable, or selfcontradictory.
The attribution of a personal nature or
human characteristics to something
nonhuman or the representation of an
abstract quality in human form.
Paradox
Personification
Pun
A joke exploiting the different possible
meanings of a word or the fact that there are
words that sound alike but have different
meanings.
Simile
Compares one object to another using like or
as.
Understatement
Makes an idea less important than it really is
Irony - Verbal Irony
Irony - Situational
Irony
Irony - Dramatic Irony
An inverse of meaning; saying the opposite of
what is meant.
Depends on a discrepancy between purpose
and result; a burning firehouse, the
cardiologist that dies young of heart disease.
When the words or acts of a character carry a
meaning unperceived by himself but
understood by the audience.