Transcript Figurative Language Vocabulary

Vocabulary
Figurative Language
DEF: language that
communicates ideas
beyond the ordinary or
literal meaning of words.
SYN: Figures of speech
EX: Simile, Metaphor,
Hyperbole, Onomatopoeia,
Personification
Simile
DEF: a comparison of 2
unlike things in which
‘like’ or ‘as’ is used
EX: good as gold; pale as
a ghost; spread like
wildfire
Metaphor
DEF: figure of speech that
makes a comparison between 2
things that are basically
different but have something in
common
EX: Her hair was silk; in
the evening of life
Hyperbole
DEF: intentional
exaggeration for
emphasis or comic
effect
EX: mile-high ice
cream cones
Personification
DEF: form of metaphor
in which language
relating to human action,
motivation, & emotion is
used to refer to nonhuman agents or objects
or abstract concepts
EX: The stuffed bear smiled
as the little boy hugged him;
the weather is smiling on us
today; love is blind
Onomatopoeia
DEF: the use of a
word whose sound
suggests its meaning
EX: buzz, screech, hiss, jingle,
cluck, woof, roar
Idiom
DEF: a phrase or
expression that means
something different from
what the words actually
say
EX: on cloud nine; over his
head
Alliteration
DEF: the repetition of
initial consonant sounds
in words
EX: The wild walrus waits and
wonders when we'll walk by.
Assonance
DEF: the repetition of
vowel sounds without
the repetition of
consonants
EX: tilting at windmills,
Adam’s apple, lake & fake
Consonance
DEF: the repetition of
consonant sounds
within & at the ends
of words
EX:
think & blank, strong & string,
lonely afternoon.
Allusion
DEF: a reference in
literature (or in visual
or performing arts) to
a familiar person,
place, thing, or event
EX: He lies so much; I am
surprised his nose has
not grown like
Pinocchio’s.
Rhyme
DEF: repetition of
sounds at the ends of
words
EX: light, night;
sky, why, sigh;
lay, weigh
Rhyme Scheme
DEF: the pattern in
which rhyme sounds
occur in a stanza;
usually indicated by
same letter of the
alphabet to each
similar sound
EX:
Dashing through the snow (a)
In a one-horse open sleigh (b)
O’er the fields we go (a)
Laughing all the way (b)
Rhythm
DEF: the pattern of
stressed & unstressed
syllables in a line of
poetry
EX:
Ding Dong! The witch is dead!
Which old witch?
The wicked witch!
(stressed syllables are underlined)
Stanza
DEF: a recurring
grouping of 2 or more
verse lines of the
same length, metrical
form, & often rhyme
scheme
EX:
Verse
DEF: a unit of poetry
such as a stanza or
line
EX:
Symbol
DEF: a person, place,
or object that
represents something
beyond itself
EX:
Bald eagle for America
Imagery
DEF: words & phrases
that create vivid
sensory experience
for the reader; may
also appeal to the
senses of smell,
hearing, taste, or
touch
EX:
Extended
Metaphor
DEF: a comparison
between unlike things
that serves as a
unifying element
throughout a series of
sentences or a whole
piece; helps to
describe a scene, an
event, a character, or
a feeling.
EX:
Cliché
DEF: a phrase or
expression which
lacks significance due
to overuse
EX: it rained cats & dogs
Irony
DEF: the contrast
between expectation
& reality; surprises
the reader or viewer
EX:
Jargon
DEF: language used in
a certain profession
or by a particular
group of people
EX: text jargon – LOL,
BTW
baseball jargon – sac fly,
bunt