FIGURES OF

SPEECH
 Synecdoche
• A type of metonymy, it gives
a significant part to
represent a whole
Example:
The poor woman has ten
hungry mouths to feed.
 Apostrophe
• Addresses personified
objects as real person,
the absent as if they
were present and the
dead as if were alive
 Allusion
• A subtle metaphor, it
recalls and projects on the
imagination memories of
the past – a well known
person, event, saying or
incident – to compare with
the present scene.
 EUPHEMISM
• Words that are used to soften the message
are often considered euphemisms.
• Example: “Passed away” is often used in
place of “died” or “killed.” A
“misunderstanding” might be used in
place of “fight” or “argument.” “wardrobe
malfunction,” which is a fancy way of
saying “your clothes fell off.” 
 Hyperbole
• From the Greek hyper,
meaning “beyond” and
ballein, meaning “to throw”
this is a deliberate
exaggeration not to deceive
but to emphasize a
statement, often used for
humorous effect.
 Irony
• The use of word to signify the
opposite of what is said.
• The words used express
approval or praise, but the
author’s real intention is
blame, criticism, scorn or
ridicule
 Understatement
• Used to minimize the impression
of the size or importance of
reality or to enhance the readers
impression of what is said.
• If the understatement is
positive, it is called melosis; if it
is a mild negative
understatement, it is called
litotes
 PARADOX
This figure of speech
completely contradicts itself
in the same sentence.
Famous quotes that
illustrate this from George
Orwell’s “1984” include:
 METAPHOR
The use of metaphor
compares two things that
are not alike and finds
something about them to
make them alike.
 ALLITERATION
• This is a very common figure of
speech that involves using words
that begin with the same
sound. It is often used in
advertising slogans to create
something catchy that more
people will remember.
 SIMILE
•two things are compared that are not
really the same, but are used to make
a point about each other.  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
•Example:
•“Life is like a box of chocolates;
you never know what you’re
going to get” is a famous line
from the movie Forrest Gump
that illustrates the simile. 
•Example:
•“My heart is a lonely
hunter that hunts on a
lonely hill” from a book
by William Sharp
• Example:
• “Sally sells sea shells by the
seashore”
• “Eric’s eagle eats egg,
enjoying each episode of
eating.”