Figures of Speech

An extended metaphor, in which a story is told to illustrate a point			Allegory
A series of words that start with the same consonant, or sound alike			Alliteration
The juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas, hence a complete opposite			Antithesis
Opposite meaning			Antonym
A tersely phrased statement			Aphorism
Coincidence of sounds, vowel rhyme (e.g. mate, shape)			Assonance
Misapplication of a word, especially in a mixed metaphor			Catachresis
Name for a person or thing associated with a place (e.g. cockney)			Demonym
Joining together of two vowel sounds (as in join)			Diphthong
Suppression of a letter or syllable, in speech			Elision
Deliberate omission of one or more words (e.g. "I can do anything better than you")			Ellipsis
Substitution of an offensive term by a more agreeable one			Euphemism
Same spelling, different meaning			Homograph
Same sound, different meaning, different spelling			Homonym
Same sound, different meaning (spelling may be the same or different)			Homophone
Deliberate use of exaggeration, for emphasis			Hyperbole
Use of a hidden meaning			Innuendo
Use of language to convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning of the words			Irony
Deliberate understatement, often by the use of a negated opposite (e.g. "not half")			Litotes
Referring to something by means of the name of something intimately associated with it (e.g. "Westminster" for "Parliament")			Metonymy
Newly–created word			Neologism
A statement that doesn't follow from what precedes it			Non sequitur
A word that imitates the sound it describes			Onomatopoeia
Juxtaposition of two apparently contradictory terms (e.g. "a deafening silence")			Oxymoron
A statement or group of statements that leads to a counter–intuitive conclusion. (In literature, use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out an underlying truth)			Paradox
Insertion of a phrase or clause in a place where it interrupts the flow of the sentence (often used to refer to the brackets that enclose it)			Parenthesis
Use of superfluous or redundant words			Pleonasm
Word combining the sound and meaning of two other words (Lewis Carroll)			Portmanteau word
Using a word or phrase in two different senses at the same time – also known as paronomasia			Pun
Describes a question that doesn't expect an answer, but is asked in order to make a point			Rhetorical
Use of irony, satire, ridicule, etc. to expose vice, folly, etc.			Satire
The way meaning is expressed in a language or code			Semantics
Repetition of the "s" sound (a form of Alliteration)			Sibilance
Comparing two things for effect (e.g. "as white as snow")			Simile
Printer's mark: a Latin word, meaning 'let it stand'			Stet
The form of an adjective that indicates the most extreme meaning (e.g. best, latest)			Superlative
Same meaning			Synonym
(Rules that govern) the ways elements of a language are combined to convey meaning			Syntax
Saying the same thing twice (e.g. "free gift")			Tautology

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Figures of Speech