English Grammar Practice Test: Figures of Speech — Flashcards

A figure of speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning different from its literal definition.

Here are some examples of figures of speech:

Irony: A figure of speech where the speaker doesn't mean the words literally. Some dictionaries say that irony states the exact opposite of the word used.
Pun: A figure of speech that involves a play on words that have more than one meaning or those that sound alike.
Euphemism: A figure of speech where inoffensive words are used to replace offensive or harsh ones.
Antithesis: A figure of speech that juxtaposes two contrasting ideas.
Metonymy: A figure of speech that constructs rich meanings and aesthetic effects and thus highlight the theme.
Apostrophe: A figure of speech where the writer or speaker is directly speaking to someone who is either not physically present, to someone who is dead, or to an inanimate object.
Anaphora: A rhetorical device that involves repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences.
Paradox: A figure of speech that presents a seemingly contradictory statement that, when considered more closely, may reveal a deeper truth.
Assonance: A figure of speech where the words have similar vowel sounds in a sentence. 
Synecdoche: A figure of speech that uses a part of something to refer to the whole thing. 

Some other types of figures of speech include: Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Hyperbole, Onomatopoeia, Oxymorons