Figures of speech are literary devices that use words in non-literal or imaginative ways to add emphasis, clarity, or vivid imagery to writing. They are the building blocks of expressive language.
In this post, we invite you on a linguistic journey through a comprehensive list of figures of speech.
Table of Contents
Figures of speech are powerful language tools used to create imagery, emotion, emphasis, and style. Appreciating the richness of language through figures of speech is a skill that English learners and writers must develop.
Let’s start with a complete list of figures of speech.
Complete List of Figures of Speech (With Definitions & Examples)
Below is an easy-to-use list of common and advanced figures of speech.
Each item includes:
- ✓ a short definition
- ✓ an example
- ✓ a link to your full post
A–Z Figures of Speech
Here us a comprehensive list of figures of speech with definitions and examples:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
- Accumulation↗
- Listing ideas to emphasize a point.
- Example: “He was kind, brave, honest, and loyal.”
- Listing ideas to emphasize a point.
- Adjunction↗
- Adding extra words for emphasis or rhythm.
- Example: “We ate, exhausted and hungry.”
- Adding extra words for emphasis or rhythm.
- Adnomination↗
- Using words with the same root.
- Example: “Live a life you love.”
- Using words with the same root.
- Allegory↗
- A story with a hidden symbolic meaning.
- Example: “Animal Farm represents political systems.”
- A story with a hidden symbolic meaning.
- Alliteration↗
- Repetition of initial consonant sounds.
- Example: “She sells seashells.”
- Repetition of initial consonant sounds.
- Allusion↗
- Reference to history, literature, or culture.
- Example: “He’s a real Einstein.”
- Reference to history, literature, or culture.
- Ambiguity↗
- Multiple meanings in one phrase.
- Example: “I saw her duck.”
- Multiple meanings in one phrase.
- Analogy↗
- A comparison that explains something complex.
- Example: “Life is like a box of chocolates.”
- A comparison that explains something complex.
- Anaphora↗
- Repetition at the beginning of clauses.
- Example: “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
- Repetition at the beginning of clauses.
- Anastrophe↗
- Reversing word order.
- Example: “Strong you are.”
- Reversing word order.
- Antanaclasis↗
- Repeating a word with different meanings.
- Example: “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.”
- Repeating a word with different meanings.
- Anthimeria↗
- Using one part of speech as another.
- Example: “Let’s Google it.”
- Using one part of speech as another.
- Anticlimax↗
- A drop from important to trivial.
- Example: “He lost his job, his car, and his pen.”
- A drop from important to trivial.
- Antimetabole
- Reversing the exact same words.
- Example: “Eat to live, not live to eat.”
- Reversing the exact same words.
- Antipersonification
- Giving animalistic or object-like qualities to humans. It is the opposite of personification.
- Example: “He moved like a wolf,” or “Her voice was a rusty hinge”
- Giving animalistic or object-like qualities to humans. It is the opposite of personification.
- Antiphrasis↗
- Ironically, using a word to mean the opposite.
- Example: Calling a big man “Tiny.”
- Ironically, using a word to mean the opposite.
- Antithesis↗
- Contrasting ideas presented together.
- Example: “Love is sweet, revenge is bitter.”
- Contrasting ideas presented together.
- Aphorism
- A short, wise saying.
- Example: “Actions speak louder than words.”
- A short, wise saying.
- Apostrophe↗
- Addressing an absent person or thing.
- Example: “O Death, where is your sting?”
- Addressing an absent person or thing.
- Assonance↗
- Repetition of vowel sounds.
- Example: “Hear the mellow wedding bells.”
- Repetition of vowel sounds.
- Asyndeton
- Removing conjunctions.
- Example: “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
- Removing conjunctions.
- Auxesis
- Intentional exaggeration that grows stronger.
- Example: “Good, better, best!”
- Intentional exaggeration that grows stronger.
B
- Bathos
- Sudden shift from serious to silly.
- Example: “He died, tragically… after tripping on a banana peel.”
- Sudden shift from serious to silly.
C
- Cacophony
- Harsh, unpleasant sounds.
- Example: “The grinding, grating, crunching sound”
- Harsh, unpleasant sounds.
- Cataphora↗
- Reference made before the noun is introduced.
- Example: “When he arrived, John was tired.”
- Reference made before the noun is introduced.
- Clanging
- Using rhyming or sound-based words for effect.
- Example: “The click-clack of the train.”
- Using rhyming or sound-based words for effect.
- Chiasmus↗
- Reversing grammatical structure.
- Example: “She loves him, and he loves her.”
- Reversing grammatical structure.
- Climax↗
- Ideas arranged from least to most important.
- Example: “I struggled, survived, succeeded.”
- Ideas arranged from least to most important.
- Circumlocution
- Talking around a subject.
- Example: “He has temporarily departed from life” for “died.”
- Talking around a subject.
- Consonance
- Repetition of consonant sounds.
- Example: “Pitter-patter.”
- Repetition of consonant sounds.
D
- Dysphemism↗
- A harsh or offensive expression.
- Example: “Pig” for a messy person.
- A harsh or offensive expression.
E
- Ellipsis↗
- Omitting understood words.
- Example: “She can dance; he, sing.”
- Omitting understood words.
- Epigram
- A witty, clever saying.
- Example: “I can resist anything except temptation.”
- A witty, clever saying.
- Epiphora (Epistrophe)↗
- Repetition at the end of clauses.
- Example: “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”
- Repetition at the end of clauses.
- Epithet
- Descriptive phrase expressing a quality.
- Example: “Alexander the Great.”
- Descriptive phrase expressing a quality.
- Euphemism↗
- Softening unpleasant ideas.
- Example: “Passed away” for “died.”
- Softening unpleasant ideas.
- Euphony
- Pleasant, harmonious sounds.
- Example: “Lullaby of leaves.”
- Pleasant, harmonious sounds.
H
- Hyperbaton
- Unusual word order.
- Example: “Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.”
- Unusual word order.
- Hyperbole↗
- Exaggeration for effect.
- Example: “I’m dying of hunger.”
- Exaggeration for effect.
- Hyperbolic Metaphor
- Extreme metaphorical comparison.
- Example: “He’s a walking encyclopedia.”
- Extreme metaphorical comparison.
- Hypophora↗
- Asking and then answering your own question.
- Example: “Why do we study? To learn.”
- Asking and then answering your own question.
I
- Idiom↗
- Phrase with a non-literal meaning.
- Example: “Break the ice.”
- Phrase with a non-literal meaning.
- Irony
- Saying the opposite of what you mean.
- Example: “Lovely weather!” during a storm.
- Saying the opposite of what you mean.
L
- Litotes↗
- Understatement using negation.
- Example: “Not bad at all.”
- Understatement using negation.
M
- Malapropism
- Misusing similar-sounding words.
- Example: “Illiterate him from your memory” (obliterate).
- Misusing similar-sounding words.
- Meiosis
- Extreme understatement.
- Example: Calling a tsunami “a little wave.”
- Extreme understatement.
- Metalepsis↗
- A reference through a related expression.
- Example: “He’s a suit” meaning businessperson.
- A reference through a related expression.
- Metaphor↗
- A direct, implied comparison.
- Example: “The world is a stage.”
- A direct, implied comparison.
- Metonymy↗
- Using a related word to represent something.
- Example: “The crown” for monarchy.
- Using a related word to represent something.
N
- Neologism
- A newly created word.
- Example: “Selfie.”
- A newly created word.
O
- Onomatopoeia
- Words that imitate sounds.
- Example: “Buzz, hiss, crash.”
- Words that imitate sounds.
- Oxymoron↗
- Contradictory terms together.
- Example: “Jumbo shrimp.”
- Contradictory terms together.
P
- Palindrome
- Phrase that reads the same backward.
- Example: “Madam, I’m Adam.”
- Phrase that reads the same backward.
- Parallelism
- Balanced grammatical structure.
- Example: “Easy come, easy go.”
- Balanced grammatical structure.
- Paradox↗
- Self-contradictory but true statement.
- Example: “Less is more.”
- Self-contradictory but true statement.
- Paronomasia (Pun)↗
- A play on words.
- Example: “A bicycle can’t stand alone; it’s two-tired.”
- A play on words.
- Paraprosdokian
- Ending a sentence in an unexpected way.
- Example: “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening—but this wasn’t it.”
- Ending a sentence in an unexpected way.
- Periphrasis
- Using a descriptive phrase instead of a simpler name.
- Example: “The king of the jungle” for “lion.”
- Using a descriptive phrase instead of a simpler name.
- Personification↗
- Human qualities to non-human things.
- Example: “The sun smiled.”
- Human qualities to non-human things.
- Pleonasm
- Using more words than necessary.
- Example: “Free gift”, “see with one’s eyes.”
- Using more words than necessary.
- Polyptoton
- Repeating the same root word.
- Example: “Strong in strength.”
- Repeating the same root word.
- Polysyndeton
- Using many conjunctions.
- Example: “He ran and laughed and cried.”
- Using many conjunctions.
- Prolepsis
- Anticipating objections or events.
- Example: “I already know what you’re thinking.”
- Anticipating objections or events.
- Pun
- Also called paronomasia (see above) – Wordplay with double meanings.
- Example: “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.”
- Also called paronomasia (see above) – Wordplay with double meanings.
R
- Reduplication
- Repetition of similar-sounding words.
- Example: “Bye-bye” or “very, very difficult”
- Repetition of similar-sounding words.
- Repetition
- Repeated words or structures.
- Example: “Alone, alone, all alone.”
- Repeated words or structures.
- Rhetorical Question
- A question asked for effect, not an answer.
- Example: “Who cares?”
- A question asked for effect, not an answer.
S
- Sarcasm↗
- Mocking or cutting verbal irony.
- Example: “Nice job!” for a mistake.
- Mocking or cutting verbal irony.
- Satire
- Humor that criticizes society.
- Example: Political cartoons.
- Humor that criticizes society.
- Simile↗
- Comparison using like or as.
- Example: “Bright as the sun.”
- Comparison using like or as.
- Spoonerism
- Switching the initial sounds of words. While spoonerisms are commonly heard as slips of the tongue, they can also be used intentionally as wordplay.
- Example: “blushing crow” instead of “crushing blow”, or “runny babbit” instead of “bunny rabbit”.
- Switching the initial sounds of words. While spoonerisms are commonly heard as slips of the tongue, they can also be used intentionally as wordplay.
- Syllepsis↗
- One word governs two meanings differently.
- Example: “Caught the train and a cold.”
- One word governs two meanings differently.
- Synecdoche↗
- A part representing the whole.
- Example: “All hands on deck.”
- A part representing the whole.
- Synesthesia
- Mixing sensory experiences.
- Example: “Warm colors.”
- Mixing sensory experiences.
T
- Tautology↗
- Repeating ideas unnecessarily.
- Example: “Future plans.”
- Repeating ideas unnecessarily.
- Tone
- The author’s attitude toward a subject.
- Example: “A sarcastic tone.”
- The author’s attitude toward a subject.
- Tricolon
- Three parallel elements.
- Example: “Veni, vidi, vici” – “I came, I saw, I conquered” or “Stop, look, and listen”.
U
- Understatement↗
- Downplaying seriousness.
- Example: “It’s just a scratch,” for a deep cut.
- Downplaying seriousness.
V
- Verbal Irony↗
- Also called “irony” (See the above.) This refers to words that express the opposite of their literal meaning.
- Example: “What a genius!” after a silly action.
- Also called “irony” (See the above.) This refers to words that express the opposite of their literal meaning.
Z
- Zeugma↗
- A word applying to multiple meanings.
- Example: “She broke his car and his heart.”
- A word applying to multiple meanings.
Automatically Updated List of Figures of Speech
Below is an automatically updated index of all figures of speech covered on this website. This list pulls directly from the “figures-of-speech” tag, so it always stays current as new posts are published.
List Of Figures Of Speech
- Accumulation
- Adjunction
- Adnomination
- Allegory
- Alliteration
- Allusion
- Ambiguity
- Analogy
- Anaphora
- Anastrophe
- Antanaclasis
- Anthimeria
- Anticlimax
- Antiphrasis
- Antithesis
- Apostrophe
- Assonance
- Cataphora
- Chiasmus
- Climax
- Dysphemism
- Ellipsis (Elliptical Construction)
- Epigram
- Epiphora (Epistrophe)
- Euphemism
- Hyperbole
- Hypophora
- Irony
- Litotes
- Merism
- Metalepsis
- Metaphor
- Metonymy
- Oxymoron
- Paradox
- Personification
- Puns
- Sarcasm
- Simile
- Synecdoche
- Tautology
- Understatement
- Zeugma and Syllepsis
What You Need to Know about Figures of Speech
The following sections provide more information about figures of speech with a brief overview of their purpose and roles in literature.
1. What Are Figures of Speech?
Figures of speech—also called stylistic or rhetorical devices—are techniques that give language depth and expressiveness. They often involve using words in non-literal or imaginative ways to convey emotions, ideas, or vivid imagery.
Common examples include metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, and alliteration.
2. Figures of Speech vs. Stylistic Devices
Figures of speech are a type of stylistic device, but not all stylistic devices are figures of speech. It’s important to understand this distinction when analyzing or teaching literary techniques.
- Figures of speech focus on creative or figurative use of language—like metaphors, similes, and hyperbole—to add meaning, emotion, or imagery.
- Stylistic devices, on the other hand, cover a wider range of tools used by writers to shape the form and tone of their writing.
These broader techniques include elements such as:
- Rhythm – the flow or beat of language,
- Tone – the author’s attitude toward the subject,
- Diction – word choice and style,
- Syntax – sentence structure.
Together, figures of speech and other stylistic devices contribute to the aesthetic quality, emotional resonance, and rhetorical power of a text.
3. Categories of Figures of Speech
Figures of speech can be grouped into two broad categories: tropes and schemes. Understanding this distinction helps clarify how these devices function in language.
Here are the two major types of figures speech:
- Tropes involve a shift in the meaning of words. They use figurative language to suggest something beyond the literal interpretation, often to evoke emotion or create vivid imagery.
- Schemes involve a change in the structure or pattern of words, focusing on the arrangement of sounds, syntax, or rhythm to produce a stylistic effect.
Let’s take a closer look at what sets these two categories apart.
4. Scheme vs. Trope
Schemes and tropes are two distinct categories of figures of speech, each serving different purposes in language.
- Schemes: Schemes involve changes in the standard word order or structure of a sentence to create a noticeable deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words.
- Purpose: The primary aim of schemes is to bring attention to the expression itself, often enhancing the rhythm or emphasis within a sentence.
- Example: Anaphora involves the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. For instance, “I have a dream. I have a dream.”
- Tropes: Tropes involve a shift from the literal meaning of a word or phrase to convey an idea in a way that goes beyond the ordinary or expected use of language.
- Purpose: Tropes add layers of meaning by using words in a figurative sense, allowing for creative expression and evoking imagery or emotions.
- Example: Metaphor is a trope, where a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. For example, “Time is a thief.”
5. Why are Figures of Speech Used in Writing?
Figures of speech are used in writing for several reasons:
- Expressiveness: Figures of speech add depth and expressiveness to language, making the writing more engaging and vivid.
- Imagery: They help create mental images in the reader’s mind, enhancing the overall visual and sensory experience of the text.
- Emphasis: Figures of speech can highlight key points, making certain ideas or emotions stand out and resonate with the reader.
- Creativity: They allow writers to play with language, fostering creativity and originality in expression.
- Rhetorical Impact: Figures of speech are often employed for rhetorical effect, influencing the emotions or persuading the reader more effectively.
- Clarity: In some cases, figures of speech can simplify complex ideas or make abstract concepts more relatable, contributing to better understanding.
- Aesthetic Appeal: They contribute to the overall aesthetic quality of the writing, making it more enjoyable and memorable.
In essence, figures of speech serve as powerful tools that writers use to infuse their work with richness, meaning, and a heightened level of communication.
6. Top 10 Most Common Figures of Speech (with Examples)
Discover the ten most frequently used figures of speech in English. Each entry includes a brief definition and a clear example to help you understand how these devices enhance language and expression.
TOP 10 Figures Of Speech
| Figures of Speech | Definition | Figurative Language Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | A comparison using “like” or “as” to highlight similarities. | Brave as a lion. |
| Metaphor | Stating that one thing is another, creating a direct comparison. | Time is a thief. |
| Personification | Assigning human qualities or attributes to non-human entities. | The wind whispered through the trees. |
| Hyperbole | Exaggerating for emphasis or effect. | I’ve told you a million times. |
| Alliteration | Repetition of initial consonant sounds in a series of words. | Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. |
| Assonance | Repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words. | The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. |
| Consonance | Repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the end of words. | Mike likes his new bike. |
| Onomatopoeia | Words imitating or resembling the sound they describe. | Buzz, bang, hiss. |
| Oxymoron | A combination of contradictory or opposite words. | Deafening silence. |
| Irony | Saying one thing while meaning the opposite for emphasis. | The firefighter’s house burned down. |
FAQs About Figures of Speech
What are the 30 figures of speech?
There is no single universal list of “30 figures of speech,” but most sources include common devices such as metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, irony, alliteration, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, pun, metonymy, synecdoche, paradox, antithesis, understatement, euphemism, and idiom. These are widely used in everyday English, literature, and rhetorical writing.
What are the 12 main figures of speech?
While the exact list varies, the 12 figures of speech most commonly taught in schools are:
1. Metaphor
2. Simile
3. Personification
4. Hyperbole
5. Metonymy
6. Synecdoche
7. Onomatopoeia
8. Alliteration
9. Irony
10. Oxymoron
11. Pun
12. Idiom
These form the foundation of figurative language and are essential for expressive writing.
What are the 27 common figures of speech with examples?
A typical list of 27 common figures of speech includes devices such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, irony, oxymoron, euphemism, understatement, paradox, metonymy, synecdoche, pun, imagery, symbolism, allusion, anaphora, assonance, consonance, antithesis, cliché, apostrophe, repetition, rhetorical question, idiom, and analogy.
Example:
– Metaphor: “Time is a thief.”
– Simile: “Her smile is like sunshine.”
– Hyperbole: “I’ve told you a million times.”
What are the main types of figures of speech?
Tropes (meaning-based) and schemes (structure-based).
How many figures of speech exist?
There are dozens—some lists include more than 100 depending on classification.
What is the most common figure of speech?
Simile and metaphor are the most widely used.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this compilation is a gateway to the captivating topic of figures of speech. Use this guide as a reference in your writing or teaching to bring clarity, emotion, and color to your language.
Other Resources:
In addition to the above list of figures of speech, explore additional language resources for grammar, vocabulary, speaking, and reading to enhance your linguistic journey.
