Figures of Speech: Types & Examples [Download PDF]

We all use various figures of speech daily, whether we realize it or not. These expressions not only make our conversations more vivid but can also be crucial in enhancing your vocabulary, creativity, and communication skills. Mastering figures of speech is particularly beneficial for those in fields like translation, poetry, or creative writing. It’s also an asset for anyone preparing for language proficiency or competitive exams.

In this blog, we’ll take you through the most popular types of figures of speech, helping you understand their impact and applications. Ready to dive in? Let’s explore how figures of speech can add flavor and depth to your language skills.

What are Figures of Speech?

It is an integral part of any language, and it is used extensively not only in our day-to-day speech but also in written texts and oral literature. These are words or phrases used in a distinctive way to produce a rhetorical effect. To say it in very simple terms, it is a phrase whose actual meaning is different from its literal meaning.

Figures of Speech are developed and expressed through a variety of different rhetorical techniques. All of us use different figures of speech in our daily conversations, both deliberately and subconsciously.

Also Read: English Speech Topics for Students

Understanding Figures of Speech for Clearer Communication

Figures of speech help to convey meaning in a more vivid and imaginative way. From metaphors to hyperboles, these rhetorical devices enhance both written and spoken language, providing clarity and emotional depth. Knowing how to use figures of speech allows you to connect with your audience by painting pictures in their minds and evoking emotions. Mastering these expressions can transform ordinary communication into engaging and persuasive messages.

Importance of Figures of Speech

Figures of speech enhance your writing and content. Take, for example, metaphors that add important details that make the writing more relatable to the readers. Idioms help to express complex ideas in a short space. It makes the content presentable and more enjoyable to the writers. Most of the time, you may use these words as a sarcastic response or to demonstrate your command of the language.

Why Figures of Speech Matter in Everyday Language?

Figures of speech are not just for literature; they are essential in daily communication. Expressions like similes and personifications make complex ideas more relatable by comparing them to familiar concepts. This makes language more impactful and memorable. Whether you’re delivering a speech, writing an essay, or simply having a conversation, understanding figures of speech can make your words more compelling, enriching both personal and professional communication.

Must Read: Best Novels for Students

15 Types of Figures of Speech with Example

There is a wide range of different types of figures of speech that are used in our daily communication. Let us take a look at some of the most popular ones that are used extensively:

Personification

Personification attributes human nature or human qualities to abstract or inanimate objects.

For example, we often use phrases like the howling wind, dancing leaves, time flies, etc. Some examples of personification in a sentence are:

• The opportunity knocked at his door
• The plants in her house silently begged to be watered
• Lightning danced across the sky
• The wind howled in the night.

Also Read: Personification: Definition, Meaning and Examples

Metaphor

A metaphor is used to imply a comparison between two things that have something in common but are in general different from each other.

Some examples of the usage of metaphors in a sentence are as follows:

• It is raining cats and dogs
• He is the star of our class
• Life is a highway.
• Her eyes were diamonds.

Also Read: 99+ Common Metaphors with Meanings [Everyday Life]

Simile

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two things that are different from each other but have similar qualities. These are generally formed through the usage of the words ‘as’ or ‘like’.

Some examples of similes in a sentence include:

• He is as brave as a lion
• Her expression was as cold as ice
• Swim like a fish
• As light as a feather

Alliteration

Alliteration is a sentence that consists of a series of words that have the same consonant sound at the beginning.

Some popular examples of alliteration in a sentence include:

• She sells sea shells on the seashore
• A good cook could cook as many cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies
• All Adam ate in August was apples and almonds
• Barry bought a book to bring to the backyard barbecue

Onomatopoeia

This is a figure of speech that is used to express a sound. To be more precise, it involves the use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the action or object referred to, i.e., hiss, clap, etc.

Some examples of onomatopoeia include:

• The buzzing bee flew over my head
• The stone hit the water with a splash
• The boulder hit the ground with a flump.
• Leaves rustle in the wind and are whipped into the air.

Hyperbole

A hyperbole is a figure of speech that consists of an exaggeration. It is the usage of exaggerated terms in order to emphasize or heighten the effect of something.

Some examples of using hyperboles in a sentence include:

• I have told you a million times not to touch my stuff!
• She has got a pea-sized brain.
• I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
• She’s as old as the hills.

Euphemism

Euphemism is the usage of a mild word in substitution of something more explicit or harsh when referring to something unfavorable or unpleasant. Some examples of its usage include:

• This mall has good facilities for differently-abled people
• He passed away in his sleep
• Passed away” instead of “died.”
• “Let go” instead of “fired.”

Also Read: Euphemism: Meaning, Uses, Types

Irony

Irony or sarcasm is a figure of speech in which the usage of words conveys the opposite of their literal meaning. These are often used in a humorous manner. Some examples of irony include:

• Your hands are as clean as mud
• The dinner you served was as hot as ice
• Coming home to a big mess and saying, “it’s great to be back.”
• Telling a rude customer to “have a nice day.”

Anaphora

It is a repetition of a word or phrase at the start of several sentences of clauses.

Some of the examples of anaphora are as follows:

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “I Have a Dream” Speech
• Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities
• “Be bold. Be brief. Be gone.”
• “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

Apostrophe

It addresses a subject that is not present in the work. In this case, the object is absent or inanimate.

Here are some examples of apostrophes. 

• Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are
• Welcome, O life!
• Alarm clock, please don’t fail me.
• Seven, you are my lucky number!

Also Read: How to Use Apostrophes? Learn 3 Golden Rules with Examples

Pun

Puns are among the most frequently used figures of speech in daily conversation. They may be great conversation starters since they make you sound clever and occasionally even humorous.

Here are a few instances of puns in speech:

• Denial is a river in Egypt (referring to The Nile using the word Denial).
• Her cat is near the computer to keep an eye on the mouse.
• No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery.
• Everyone thinks my runny nose is funny, but it’s snot.

Paradox

These figures of speech, like ironies, emphasize something by discussing the exact opposite of it. A paradox, on the other hand, differs from irony in that it does not make the contrast as evident.

Let’s examine two instances of paradoxical figures of speech:

• “Some of my biggest triumphs have also been failures” (According to US actress Pearl Bailey)
• “War is good. Slavery is freedom. “Ignorance is power” (As said by English author George Orwell)
• Save money by spending it
• If I know one thing, it’s that I know nothing

Oxymoron

This figure of speech, which should not be confused with ironies and paradoxes, links two opposing ideas at once. This indicates that two opposing concepts are utilized inside a single sentence to create levity in an oxymoron figure of speech. For instance,

• This is another fine mess you have gotten us into
• Suddenly, the room filled with a deafening silence
• The comedian was seriously funny
• You are clearly confused by the situation you have found yourself in

Assonance

Internal vowels in nearby words that are the same or comparable in sound. Here are a few examples of assonance in speech:

• How now, brown cow?
• The light of the fire is a sight
• Go slow over the road
• Try as I might, the kite did not fly

Metonymy

Metonymy is a figure of speech when one term or phrase is used in place of another with which it is closely related. It is also a rhetorical technique used to describe something indirectly by making references to objects around it.

Here are a few instances of Metonym:

• “That stuffed suit with the briefcase is a poor excuse for a salesman,” the manager said angrily.
• The pen is mightier than the sword.”
• I’m a Silicon Valley guy. I just think people from Silicon Valley can do anything.
• Most of the successful people in Hollywood are failures as human beings.

How to Use a Figure of Speech?

Figures of speeches do not convey the literal meaning, hence, it is very important to know how to use the figure of speech. The most significant way of doing this is by making sure that the figure of speech that you are using implies, or gives out the desired effect and feeling.

There are different ways and points you can remember to easily do this. Some of them are as follows. 

Classifying of Figures of Speech

Figures of speech can be categorized into categories that are based on their functions when they are used in sentences. The main categories from these are as follows: 

1. Those figures of speech show phonetic resemblances and represent sounds. Similes, personification, metaphors, metonymy, euphemism, and synecdoche are the figures of speech used for this purpose.
2. Those figures of speech that show a relationship or resemblance. This kind of speech is used to create a similar effect by using similar-sounding words. 
3. Those figures of speech that show emphasis or unimportance. This kind of speech emphasizes the level of importance or unimportance. Hyperbole, oxymoron, antithesis, and irony are the figures of speech used for this purpose.

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Figures of Speech Examples

Explore engaging figures of speech examples that bring language to life! From metaphors to similes, see how these tools add depth and creativity to everyday communication.

• When dissolving like soap in water. (Smile)
• John is a goat. (Metaphor)
• A rain starts or thinner, then look at the joy in the soil. The birds told me that you are going to distant lands. That beautiful sound of the mountain has traveled all around. (Personification)
• The wave of the sea did not go as far as my heart. (Hyperbole)
• Can you hear the clicks coming from the roof? (Onomatopoeia)
• The monkey ate the beans in his hand. (Onomatopoeia)
• I could not sleep through my mother’s snort during the night. (Onomatopoeia)
• The flowing waters of the waterfall took all my troubles. (Onomatopoeia)
• The food in the cauldron was boiling and scalding. (Onomatopoeia)

Must Read: Poetic Devices

15 Most Common Examples of Figures of Speech

Given below are some of the common examples to explain the figures of speech:

Let’s learn more about figures of speech and their examples below.

Figures of Speech	Examples
Euphemism	He passed away in his sleep
Irony	Your hands are as clean as mud
Anaphora	Dr Martin Luther King Jr: “I Have a Dream” Speech
Apostrophe	Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are
Pun	Everyone thinks my runny nose is funny, but it’s snot.
Paradox	“Some of my biggest triumphs have also been failures,”
Oxymoron	You are clearly confused by the situation you have found yourself in
Assonance	How now, brown cow?
Metonymy	“The pen is mightier than the sword”

Writing Figures of Speech

In writing, when figures of speech are used effectively, these devices enhance the writer’s ability for description and expression so that readers have a better understanding of what is being conveyed. Here are some ways that writers benefit from incorporating it into their work:

• Figure of Speech as Artistic Use of Language: Effective use of figures of speech is one of the greatest demonstrations of artistic use of language. Writing forms art with words by creating poetic meaning, comparisons, and expressions with these literary devices.

• Figure of Speech as Entertainment for Reader: Effective figures of speech often elevate the entertainment value of a literary work for the reader. Many invoke humor or provide a sense of irony in ways that literal expressions do not. This can create a greater understanding of engagement for the reader regarding a literary work.

• Figure of Speech as Memorable Experience for Reader: By using it effectively to enhance description and meaning, writers make their works more memorable for readers as an experience. Writers can often share a problematic truth or convey a particular concept through figurative language so that the reader has a greater understanding of the material and one that lasts in memory.

Examples in English Literature

Numerous figures of speech used as literary devices may be seen in literature. These add meaning to literature and showcase the power and beauty of figurative language. Here are some examples from well-known literary works:

• The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.

Fitzgerald makes use of simile here as a figure of speech to compare Gatsby’s party guests to moths. The imagery Fitzgerald uses is one of delicacy and beauty and creates an ephemeral atmosphere. However, the likening of Gatsby’s guests to moths also reinforces the idea that they are only attracted to the sensation of the parties and that they will depart without having made any genuine impact or connection. This simile underscores the themes of superficiality and transience in the novel.

• One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

Both described at the same time how it was always March there and always Monday, and then they understood that José Arcadio Buendía was not as crazy as the family said, but that he was the only one who had enough lucidity to sense the truth of the fact that time also stumbled and had accidents and could therefore splinter and leave an eternalized fragment in a room.

In this passage, Garcia-Marquez utilizes personification as a figure of speech. Time is personified as an entity that “stumbled” and “had accidents.” This is an effective use of figurative language in that this personification of time indicates a level of human frailty that is rarely associated with something so measured. In addition, this is effective in the novel because time has a great deal of influence on the plot and characters of the story. Personified in this way, the meaning of time in the novel is enhanced to the point that it is a character in and of itself.

• Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)

A book is a loaded gun in the house next door…Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man?

In this passage, Bradbury utilizes metaphor as a figure of speech to compare a book to a loaded gun. This is an effective literary device for this novel because, in the story, books are considered weapons of free thought and possession of them is illegal. Of course, Bradbury is only stating that a book is a loaded gun as a means of figurative, not the literal meaning. This metaphor is particularly powerful because the comparison is so unlikely; books are generally not considered to be dangerous weapons. However, the comparison does have a level of logic in the context of the story in which the pursuit of knowledge is weaponized and criminalized.

Also Read: History of English Literature

How to Ace Figures of Speech?

Wondering what the hard and fast rule is to ace this section? The only thing that will help you is practice. We have curated a list of the best books that will help you ace it like a pro:

Figures of Speech: The Art of Ornate Diction	Buy Here
Figures of Speech: Sixty Ways to Turn a Phrase	Buy Here
A Handbook of Scansion and Figures of Speech	Buy Here
Fantastic Figures of Speech (Fun with English)	Buy Here
Figures of Speech: Figures of Speech	Buy Here

Test Yourself and Complete this Exercise on Figures of Speech

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