1.

Alliteration This is a very common figure of speech that involves using words that begin with the same sound.

For instance, Sally sells sea shells by the seashore is alliteration and try saying it fast to see how difficult it is! It is often used in advertising
slogans to create something catchy that more people will remember.
2

Anaphora
This figure of speech uses a specific clause at the beginning of each sentence or point to make a statement.
For instance: Good night and good luck is an example of the beginning word being the same. The more it is used, the more of an emotional
effect is can evoke among those who are listening. Another example is "Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition!" from King John, II, I by William
Shakespeare.
3

Assonance
Remember the phrase I Like Ike? It was a very common phase for those who supported Dwight Eisenhower during his presidential run. This is a
figure of speech that focuses on the vowel sounds in a phrase, repeating them over and over to great effect.
4

Hyperbole
It was as big as a mountain! It was faster than a cheetah! It was dumber than a rock! This figure of speech makes things seem much bigger than
they really were by using grandiose depictions of everyday things. Hyperbole is often seen as an exaggeration that adds a bit of humor to a story.
5

Irony
This figure of speech tries to use a word in a literal sense that debunks what has just been said. Gentlemen, you cant fight in here! This is the
War Room! from Dr. Strangelove is a great example. It is often used to poke fun at a situation that everyone else sees as a very serious matter.
6

Metaphor
The use of metaphor compares two things that are not alike and finds something about them to make them alike.
My heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill from a book by William Sharp is a good example of metaphor. Some writers try to use this
style to create something profound out of comparing two things that appear to have nothing at all in common.
7

Simile
In this figure of speech, two things are compared that are not really the same, but are used to make a point about each other.
Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what youre going to get is a famous line from the movie Forrest Gump that illustrates the simile.
This is often used to make an emotional point about something. The difference between simile and metaphor is that you can obviously see words
"like" in the sentence.
8

Metonymy
In this figure of speech, one word that has a very similar meaning can be used for another. Using the word crown for royalty or lab coats for
scientists are two examples. In some ways it can be seen as a nickname for something else; for instance, The White House said doesnt
actually mean the White House said it (a house cant speak!) but that the President said it. However, we all understand the meaning, and so the
words are interchangeable.
9

Onomatopoeia
This is the use of a word that actually sounds like what it means. Good examples include hiss or ding-dong or fizz. These words are meant to
describe something that actually sounds very much like the word itself. This is a trick often used in advertising to help convey what something is
really like.
10

Paradox

This figure of speech completely contradicts itself in the same sentence. Famous quotes that illustrate this from George Orwells 1984 include:
War is peace. Ignorance is strength. Freedom is slavery. Though we know these things arent true, they present an interesting paradox that
makes a person think seriously about what they have just read or heard.
11

Personification
This is a way of giving an inanimate object the qualities of a living thing. The tree quaked with fear as the wind approached is an example; The
sun smiled down on her is another. This can sometimes be used to invoke an emotional response to something by making it more personable,
friendly and relatable.
12

Pun
This play on words uses different senses of the word, or different sounds that make up the word, to create something fun and interesting. For
instance: I would like to go to Holland some day. Wooden shoe? is a pun that actually means wouldnt you? Sometimes puns are so subtle that
they can be tough to pick up unless you are really listening for them.
13

Synecdoche
This is a figure of speech in which one thing is meant to represent the whole. A few good examples include ABCs for alphabet, new set of
wheels for car, or 9/11 to demonstrate the whole of the tragedy that happened in the United States on September 11, 2001. This is often used in
journalism as a type of shorthand.
14

Understatement
This is a situation in which the thing discussed is made to seem much less important than it really is. This famous line from Catcher in the Rye is a
good example: I have to have this operation. It isnt very serious. I have this tiny tumor on the brain. Understatement can often be used to
comedic effect.
15

Antithesis
This is a contradiction that pits two ideas against each other in a balanced way. Youre easy on the eyes, hard on the heart is a line from a
country song that illustrates this perfectly. This is often used to indicate just how something can be more than one thing at the same time.
16

Euphemism
Words that are used to soften the message are often considered euphemisms. Passed away is often used in place of died or killed. A
misunderstanding might be used in place of fight or argument. And who could forget wardrobe malfunction, which is a fancy way of saying
your clothes fell off.
17

Oxymoron
This puts two words together that seem to contradict each other. Military intelligence, real phony, civil war, and silent yell are all examples of
an oxymoron. Many people use these to promote the humor in a situation.

The Top 20 Figures

1.

Alliteration
The repetition of an initial consonant sound.

2.

Anaphora
The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses. (Contrast with epiphora and epistrophe.)

3.

Antithesis
The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.

4.

Apostrophe
Breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing, some abstract quality, an inanimate object, or a nonexistent character.

5.

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

6.

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

7.

Euphemism
The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.

8.

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

9.

Irony
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.

10.

Litotes
A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.

11.

Metaphor
An implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have something important in common.

12.

Metonymy
A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it's closely associated; also, the rhetorical strategy of describing
something indirectly by referring to things around it.

13.

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

14.

Oxymoron
A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.

15.

Paradox
A statement that appears to contradict itself.

16.

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

17.

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

18.

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

19.

Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole (for example, ABCs foralphabet) or the whole for a part ("England won the World Cup in
1966").

20.

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