Simple words. Deep thinking. The tools writers use.
Figures of Speech
A friendly, self-paced manual to 52 figures of speech, the clever moves that turn plain sentences into memorable ones. Clear definitions, honest comparisons, and a quick quiz after every idea.
The fifty-two figures in this guide, sized by how often you’ll meet them.
Before we begin
What is a figure of speech?
A figure of speech is a word or phrase used in a non-literal way to create an effect, to paint a picture, stir a feeling, or make an idea stick.
When you say “time is a thief,” no one has actually been robbed, but the phrase makes the idea land harder than the plain words “time passes quickly” ever could. Figures of speech are the working tools of poets, novelists, speech-writers, advertisers, and anyone who wants to be understood and remembered. The language they produce is known, all together, as figurative language, the opposite of the literal language you find on a road sign or in a recipe.
You already use dozens of them without noticing. This guide simply gives them names, shows you how each one works, and, the part most lists skip, helps you tell apart the ones that are easy to confuse. A simile is not quite a metaphor; irony is not quite sarcasm; a pun is not quite a malapropism. Once you can see the difference, both your reading and your writing get sharper.
Figures of speech, tropes, and schemes
The oldest and still most common way to organise figures of speech is to split them into two big families: tropes and schemes.
Tropes twist the meaning of words, they deviate from the expected, literal sense. A metaphor, an irony, a pun: each makes a word mean something other than what it plainly says.Schemes twist the shape of a sentence, the order, pattern, or arrangement of words, while the words keep their ordinary meaning. Alliteration, anaphora, and antithesis are schemes.
The trope/scheme split is not the only system, you can find many ways of grouping figures of speech, but it is the most common, and it is simple and structured enough to be useful. In this guide we go one step friendlier: we sort all 52 into eight families by the job they do, so similar tools sit together and the easy-to-confuse pairs are never far apart. A small label at the top of each group tells you whether it leans toward tropes or schemes.
How to use this page
Take the check-up first. Ten quick questions below show you what you already know. Every answer explains itself, so it teaches as you go.
Work through the 52. They are grouped into eight families by what they do. Read the definition, the example, and the “don’t mix it up” note, then try the quick check under each one.
Sit the final test. Fifteen mixed questions at the end tell you how far you’ve come.
Keep the cheat sheet. Download the one-page summary to revise before an exam.
Diagnostic check-up · 10 questions
Where are you starting from?
There’s no score to be nervous about here. Pick an answer and the box will explain why it’s right, wrong guesses teach you just as much as lucky ones. Then press the button at the end to see how many you got.
1“Her eyes were like two bright stars.” Which figure of speech is this?
It is a simile: the comparison uses the linking word “like.” If it read “her eyes were two bright stars,” it would be a metaphor.
2“The thunder grumbled in the distance.” What is happening here?
Grumbling is a human action given to thunder, so this is personification. (“Boom” or “crash” would be onomatopoeia.)
3“I have a thousand things to do today.” This is an example of…
“A thousand things” is deliberate exaggeration for emphasis, hyperbole. Its opposite would be understatement.
4“The White House announced new rules today.” “The White House” stands for the president. This is…
A related thing (the building) names the people inside it, metonymy. Synecdoche would use an actual part, like “all hands on deck.”
5“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Which sound device is this?
The repeated /p/ at the start of the words is alliteration. Assonance would repeat a vowel sound instead.
6“Deafening silence” puts two opposite words together. This is…
Two contradictory words side by side make an oxymoron. A paradox would be a whole self-contradicting statement that still rings true.
7A fire station burns down. The situation is best described as…
The outcome clashes with what we'd expect, that gap between expectation and reality is irony.
8“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the hills.” The repeated opening is…
Repeating “we shall fight” at the start of each clause is anaphora. Repetition at the end would be epistrophe.
9“He passed away peacefully.” “Passed away” is a gentle way of saying “died.” This is a…
A soft phrase replacing a harsh one is a euphemism. It is chosen to be kinder, not merely wordier.
10“She's not bad at chess” (meaning she is very good). This double-negative understatement is…
Stating a positive by denying its opposite (“not bad”) is litotes, a neat kind of understatement.
The 52, grouped by function
Eight families of figures
Figures of speech are easier to remember when you sort them by the job they do rather than by alphabet. Tap any family to jump straight to it.
Figures that understand one thing by holding it next to another.
Mostly tropes
01
Simile
A comparison between two different things using a linking word such as like or as. The two things stay separate; you are only saying one resembles the other.
Example“She was as brave as a lion.” · “The classroom buzzed like a beehive.”
Don’t mix it upDon't confuse it with a metaphor. A simile says X is like Y; a metaphor says X is Y, with no linking word.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which sentence is a simile?
A simile needs a linking word. “Like sunshine” makes the comparison open and clear. “Her smile was sunshine” drops the link, so it becomes a metaphor.
02
Metaphor
A comparison that states one thing is another, without like or as. It transfers the qualities of one thing straight onto the other.
Example“Time is a thief.” · “The exam hall was a battlefield.”
Don’t mix it upUnlike a simile, a metaphor makes no admission that it is only a comparison, it speaks as if the two things are the same.
Quick check True / False
True or False: “The world is a stage” is a metaphor.
True. It claims the world is a stage with no “like” or “as,” so it is a metaphor, not a simile.
03
Analogy
An extended comparison that explains something unfamiliar by lining it up, point by point, with something familiar. It is used to make an idea clear, not just to decorate.
Example“A cell is like a factory: the nucleus is the manager, the membrane is the security gate, and the mitochondria are the power plant.”
Don’t mix it upA simile or metaphor makes one quick comparison; an analogy carries the comparison across several matching parts to explain.
Quick check Choose the correct one
What is the main job of an analogy?
An analogy teaches. It maps several parts of a hard idea onto an easy, familiar one so the reader understands.
04
Personification
Giving human qualities, feelings, actions, or intentions, to something that is not human, such as an object, animal, or idea.
Example“The wind whispered through the trees.” · “Opportunity knocked at the door.”
Don’t mix it upClose to anthropomorphism, but personification is a brief poetic touch, while anthropomorphism makes a non-human act fully human throughout a story.
Quick check True / False
True or False: “The stubborn lock refused to open” uses personification.
True. A lock cannot be stubborn or refuse anything, those are human traits given to an object.
05
Anthropomorphism
Giving a non-human being, an animal, object, or god, a full human character: it speaks, thinks, wears clothes, and behaves like a person all the way through.
ExampleThe talking, waistcoat-wearing White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland; the animals who run a farm in Animal Farm.
Don’t mix it upPersonification is a passing image (“the sea grew angry”); anthropomorphism turns the creature into an actual human-like character for the whole tale.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which is anthropomorphism, not just personification?
A mouse that talks, cooks, and pays rent is a full human-like character, anthropomorphism. The others are single poetic touches.
06
Zoomorphism
The opposite move to personification: giving animal qualities to a human, a god, or an object.
Example“He wolfed down his dinner.” · “She pawed through her bag.”
Don’t mix it upPersonification makes non-humans human; zoomorphism makes humans (or things) animal.
Quick check True / False
True or False: “The boxer snarled and bared his teeth at his rival” uses zoomorphism.
True. Snarling and baring teeth are animal behaviours mapped onto a person, that is zoomorphism.
07
Conceit
An elaborate, surprising metaphor that stretches a comparison between two very unlike things across many lines, asking the reader to follow the clever logic.
ExampleJohn Donne compares two lovers to the two legs of a drawing compass, fixed together, leaning, and turning as one.
Don’t mix it upA plain metaphor is quick and intuitive; a conceit is deliberately far-fetched and extended, showing off the writer's ingenuity.
Quick check Choose the correct one
What makes a conceit different from an ordinary metaphor?
A conceit takes an unlikely comparison and develops it cleverly over many lines. That length and surprise set it apart.
08
Allegory
A whole story, poem, or image in which characters and events stand for deeper ideas, moral, political, or spiritual, beneath the surface tale.
ExampleAnimal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution; the tortoise and hare is an allegory about steady effort.
Don’t mix it upA metaphor is one comparison in a sentence; an allegory is a sustained comparison running through the entire work, where nearly everything is a symbol.
Quick check True / False
True or False: An allegory works only in a single sentence.
False. An allegory runs through a whole story or poem, with characters and events standing for hidden meanings from start to finish.
Group 2 · Figures 9–14
Substitution & Association
Figures that name a thing by something close to it, not by itself.
Tropes
09
Metonymy
Referring to something by the name of a related thing, not by its own name, the two are closely connected in everyday life.
Example“The Crown approved the law” (Crown = the monarchy). “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
Don’t mix it upClose to synecdoche, but metonymy uses a related thing (crown for king), while synecdoche uses a part of the thing itself (hands for workers).
Quick check Choose the correct one
“All eyes turned to the White House for a statement.” Here “the White House” is metonymy for what?
The building's name stands in for the people who work there, a related thing replacing the real subject. That is metonymy.
10
Synecdoche
Using a part of something to mean the whole, or the whole to mean a part.
Example“All hands on deck” (hands = sailors). “Nice wheels!” (wheels = the whole car).
Don’t mix it upA cousin of metonymy. Synecdoche uses a genuine part (hands, wheels); metonymy uses an associated thing that is not a part (the Crown, Hollywood).
Quick check True / False
True or False: In “The farm needed more hands,” the word “hands” is synecdoche.
True. “Hands” is a part of a worker standing in for the whole worker, a classic synecdoche.
11
Transferred epithet
An adjective is shifted from the person it really describes to a nearby object. Also called hypallage.
Example“He passed a sleepless night” (the man is sleepless, not the night). “A weary road.”
Don’t mix it upLike personification it lends a human feeling to an object, but here the feeling is simply moved from the real owner nearby, not fully granted to the object.
Quick check Choose the correct one
In “she gave a nervous laugh,” who is actually nervous?
The person is nervous; the adjective has been transferred to the laugh. That shift is a transferred epithet.
12
Antonomasia
Replacing a proper name with a title or descriptive phrase, or using a famous name as a label for a type of person.
Example“The Bard” for Shakespeare; calling a wise friend “a real Einstein.”
Don’t mix it upA form of metonymy aimed at names. Antonomasia swaps a name for an epithet (or the reverse), rather than swapping any related object.
Quick check True / False
True or False: Calling a traitor “a Judas” is antonomasia.
True. A famous name is used as a label for a whole type of person, that is antonomasia.
13
Allusion
A brief, indirect reference to a well-known person, place, event, book, or myth that the reader is expected to recognise.
Example“He was a real Romeo with the girls.” · “This place is a Garden of Eden.”
Don’t mix it upUnlike a metaphor, an allusion works only if you already know the reference; it borrows meaning from outside the text.
Quick check Choose the correct one
“She met her Waterloo” alludes to what?
It points to Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, meaning a person's decisive downfall. Allusions borrow meaning from shared knowledge.
14
Symbolism
Using an object, colour, or image to represent a larger idea or feeling beyond its literal self.
ExampleA dove for peace; a red rose for love; a storm for inner turmoil.
Don’t mix it upA metaphor states a comparison in words; a symbol simply is the object, quietly carrying its extra meaning without saying “this is that.”
Quick check True / False
True or False: A chain used to represent slavery or oppression is an example of symbolism.
True. The chain is a real object standing for a bigger idea, oppression. That is symbolism.
Group 3 · Figures 15–21
Sound & Music
Figures you hear before you understand them.
Schemes of sound
15
Alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the start of words that are close together.
Example“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”
Don’t mix it upAlliteration repeats initial consonant sounds; assonance repeats vowel sounds anywhere in the words.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which phrase uses alliteration?
“Time and tide” repeats the initial /t/ sound. Alliteration lives at the start of neighbouring words.
16
Assonance
The repetition of the same vowel sound in nearby words, whatever letters spell it.
Example“The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain.”
Don’t mix it upAlliteration repeats opening consonants; assonance repeats vowel sounds; consonance repeats consonant sounds usually at the ends.
Quick check True / False
True or False: “Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese” relies mainly on assonance.
True. The long /ee/ vowel echoes across fleet, feet, sweep, sleeping, and geese, that repeated vowel is assonance.
17
Consonance
The repetition of the same consonant sound within or at the end of nearby words (not just the start).
Example“The lick, the lick of the licking flame.” · “pitter-patter.”
Don’t mix it upAlliteration is consonance limited to the beginning of words; consonance can appear in the middle or end too.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which best shows consonance?
The repeated /k/ and /s/ sounds inside and at the ends of the words (ship, deck, slick) are consonance.
18
Sibilance
A special kind of consonance built on soft hissing sounds, mainly /s/, /sh/, and /z/, to create a whispering, smooth, or sinister effect.
Example“The silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain.”
Don’t mix it upSibilance is a subtype of consonance focused only on hissing sounds; consonance can use any consonant.
Quick check True / False
True or False: Sibilance mainly uses /s/ and /sh/ sounds for a soft, hissing effect.
True. Sibilance leans on hissing sounds like /s/, /sh/, and /z/ to create a whisper or a sinister mood.
19
Onomatopoeia
A word that imitates the actual sound it describes.
Don’t mix it upA pun plays on existing words; a portmanteau fuses two words into a brand-new one.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which word is a portmanteau?
“Chillax” blends “chill” and “relax” into one new word, that fusion is a portmanteau.
38
Paraprosdokian
A sentence whose ending is surprising or twists the meaning of the first part, making you re-read it, often for humour.
Example“I've had a wonderful evening, but this wasn't it.”, Groucho Marx.
Don’t mix it upUnlike a pun (a play on one word), a paraprosdokian surprises you by twisting the whole sentence at the last moment.
Quick check True / False
True or False: A paraprosdokian delivers a surprising twist in its final words.
True. The unexpected ending forces you to rethink the start of the sentence, that twist defines a paraprosdokian.
39
Innuendo
A remark that hints at something, often critical, cheeky, or suggestive, without stating it openly, leaving the real meaning to be understood.
Example“She finished the whole project on her own, apparently” (hinting at doubt).
Don’t mix it upAn allusion points to shared culture; an innuendo hints at a hidden, often pointed meaning the speaker won't say outright.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Innuendo works by…
Innuendo suggests rather than states, it leaves the pointed meaning implied for the listener to catch.
Group 7 · Figures 40–47
Repetition & Structure
Figures that shape a sentence by the pattern of its words.
Schemes of order
40
Anaphora
Repeating the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.
Example“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds…”, Churchill.
Don’t mix it upThe mirror image of epistrophe, which repeats at the end instead of the beginning.
Quick check True / False
True or False: “Every day, every night, every moment I wait” uses anaphora.
True. “Every” opens each phrase in a row, repetition at the start is anaphora.
41
Epistrophe
Repeating the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences.
Example“…of the people, by the people, for the people”, the repeated ending “the people.”
Don’t mix it upThe opposite of anaphora (start-repetition). Epistrophe hammers the point home by repeating at the finish.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which sentence uses epistrophe?
“no evil” repeats at the end of each clause, end-repetition, which is epistrophe.
42
Epizeuxis
Repeating a single word immediately, with no other words in between, for strong emphasis.
Example“Never, never, never give up.” · “O horror, horror, horror!”
Don’t mix it upUnlike anaphora (repetition across separate clauses), epizeuxis repeats a word back-to-back in the same breath.
Quick check True / False
True or False: “Location, location, location” is epizeuxis.
True. The same word repeats immediately with nothing between, that back-to-back repetition is epizeuxis.
43
Anadiplosis
Repeating the last word of one clause at the start of the next, forming a chain.
Example“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
Don’t mix it upAnaphora repeats at the start of several clauses; anadiplosis links each clause to the next by echoing the final word.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which shows anadiplosis?
The end word “plan” becomes the start of the next clause, that linking chain is anadiplosis.
44
Chiasmus
Two phrases balanced in reversed grammatical order (an ABBA pattern of structure), without necessarily repeating the exact words.
Example“Beauty is truth, truth beauty.” · “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”
Don’t mix it upAntimetabole is a strict chiasmus that repeats the same words reversed; chiasmus can mirror the structure with different words.
Quick check True / False
True or False: Chiasmus reverses the order of ideas or grammar in the second half.
True. Chiasmus mirrors the first half in reverse order, an ABBA shape, for balance and surprise.
45
Antimetabole
Repeating the same words in reverse order in the second half of a phrase.
Example“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Don’t mix it upA precise form of chiasmus. Antimetabole must repeat the identical words reversed; chiasmus need only reverse the structure.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which is an antimetabole?
“Eat to live … live to eat” repeats the same words in reverse, that exact mirror is antimetabole.
46
Polysyndeton
Using many conjunctions (and, or, but) in quick succession, often to slow the rhythm or pile things up.
Example“We have ships and men and money and stores.”
Don’t mix it upThe opposite of asyndeton, which removes conjunctions altogether.
Quick check True / False
True or False: “He ran and jumped and laughed and sang” is polysyndeton.
True. The repeated “and” between every item is polysyndeton, which builds rhythm and abundance.
47
Asyndeton
Deliberately leaving out conjunctions between words or clauses, often to speed up the pace.
Example“I came, I saw, I conquered.” · “Reduce, reuse, recycle.”
Don’t mix it upThe opposite of polysyndeton. Asyndeton drops the “ands” for a fast, clipped effect; polysyndeton adds many.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which sentence uses asyndeton?
“Study, sleep, repeat” drops all conjunctions for a fast, clipped rhythm, that omission is asyndeton.
Group 8 · Figures 48–52
Rhetoric & Address
Figures that turn to speak, ask, or soften.
Tropes & schemes
48
Rhetorical question
A question asked for effect, not for an answer, the answer is obvious or beside the point.
Example“Is the sky blue?” · “Who doesn't love a holiday?”
Don’t mix it upA hypophora also asks a question, but then answers it; a rhetorical question leaves the answer hanging.
Quick check True / False
True or False: A rhetorical question expects a genuine, spoken answer.
False. A rhetorical question is asked for effect, the answer is obvious, so none is expected.
49
Apostrophe
Directly addressing someone absent or dead, or an object or abstract idea as though it could hear and reply. (Different from the punctuation mark.)
Example“O Death, where is thy sting?” · “Twinkle, twinkle, little star…”
Don’t mix it upPersonification gives human traits to a thing; apostrophe speaks to that thing or absent person directly.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which line is an apostrophe (the figure of speech)?
Speaking directly to the West Wind as if it could listen is apostrophe, addressing an absent or non-human thing.
50
Hypophora
Raising a question and then immediately answering it yourself.
Example“What should we do next? First, we stay calm. Then we make a plan.”
Don’t mix it upUnlike a rhetorical question (left unanswered), hypophora poses the question precisely so the speaker can answer it.
Quick check True / False
True or False: In hypophora, the speaker answers their own question.
True. Hypophora asks a question and then supplies the answer, that is what separates it from a rhetorical question.
51
Euphemism
A mild, gentle, or indirect word used in place of one that is harsh, blunt, or unpleasant.
Example“passed away” for died; “let go” for fired; “between jobs” for unemployed.
Don’t mix it upA euphemism softens; a circumlocution merely talks around a point at length. A euphemism is chosen to be kinder or more polite.
Quick check Choose the correct one
Which is a euphemism?
“Passed away” is a gentle stand-in for the blunt word “died”, that softening is a euphemism.
52
Circumlocution
Using many more words than needed and talking around a subject instead of naming it directly.
Example“The thing you use to open a door that needs the metal object” instead of “key.”
Don’t mix it upA euphemism softens a harsh idea in a phrase or two; circumlocution simply avoids the direct word by going the long way round.
Quick check True / False
True or False: Circumlocution means getting straight to the point in as few words as possible.
False. Circumlocution is the opposite, talking in circles and using far more words than the point requires.
Final assessment · 15 questions
How far have you come?
A mixed test drawn from all eight families: identify the device, spot the odd one out, and tell apart the tricky pairs. Answer every question, then press the button for your score and a short verdict.
1“The classroom was a zoo.” Identify the figure of speech.
It says the classroom was a zoo, with no “like” or “as” — a metaphor.
2Which pair are opposites of each other?
Hyperbole exaggerates; understatement downplays. They pull in opposite directions.
3“Buzz,” “hiss,” and “splash” are all examples of…
Each word imitates the sound it names — onomatopoeia.
4“All hands on deck!” — “hands” means the whole sailors. This is…
A part (hands) stands for the whole person — synecdoche. Metonymy would use a related thing, not a part.
5“Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” This is…
The same words return in reverse order — antimetabole, a precise kind of chiasmus.
6True or False: A conceit is a short, everyday comparison.
False. A conceit is an elaborate, surprising comparison stretched over many lines — the opposite of short and everyday.
7“When pigs fly!” insists something will never happen. This extreme figure is…
Naming an impossibility to mean “never” is adynaton — hyperbole taken to the impossible.
8Which sentence contains a pun?
“Hard to beat” plays on beating eggs and being unbeatable — a deliberate double meaning, so it's a pun.
9“O Captain! my Captain!” directly addresses someone who cannot answer. This is…
Speaking directly to an absent or unhearing figure is apostrophe (the figure of speech, not the punctuation).
10“I must be cruel only to be kind.” This self-contradicting but true statement is…
A full statement that contradicts itself yet holds a truth is a paradox. An oxymoron would be just two words.
11“brunch,” “smog,” and “motel” are all…
Each blends two words into one new word — a portmanteau.
12True or False: “The silken, sad, uncertain rustling” relies on sibilance.
True. The soft, hissing /s/ sounds create sibilance, a whispering kind of consonance.
13“I came, I saw, I conquered.” The missing conjunctions make this…
Dropping the “ands” for a fast, clipped rhythm is asyndeton.
14Which is an example of metonymy?
“The crown” names the monarchy by a related object — metonymy. The others are metaphor, simile, and personification.
15“He lost his home, his job, and his umbrella.” The comic drop to something trivial is…
Falling from the serious (home, job) to the trivial (umbrella) for comic effect is bathos — an anticlimax.
Take it with you
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Figures of Speech, One-Page Cheat Sheet
All 52 figures, grouped by function, with a one-line definition and example each · PDF
The practice buttons open Kahoot and Quizlet, the specific sets go live once they’re published. A Word (.doc) copy of the cheat sheet can be added on request; the PDF above prints cleanly onto two sides of A4.
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Literary terms are used slightly differently by different examiners and textbooks. Where usage varies (for example, whether sarcasm is a type of irony), this guide notes the common school-level convention.
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Thapa, T. (2026). Figures of Speech: A Good Learner guide to 52 figures of speech. The Good Learner Project. https://goodlearnerproject.com/figures-of-speech.html
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