In continuation of the first part of the series which featured 10 figures of speech with examples, this considers the other 10, also with examples.
LITOTES
A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.
Examples: The ice cream was not too bad; A million dollars is not small money; You are not doing badly at all
METONYMY
A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it’s closely associated; also, the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it.
Examples: The pen is mightier than the sword. (Pen refers to written words and sword to military force.); Nigeria is determined to destroy the scourge that is Boko Haram (Nigeria refers to the government); Let me give you a hand. (Hand means help.)
ONOMATOPOEIA
The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to
Examples: Water – splash, spray, sprinkle, squirt, drip, drizzle (words that indicate a small amount of liquid often end in -le); Voice – giggle, growl, gurgle, mumble, murmur, bawl, belch, chatter.
OXYMORON
PARADOX
A statement that appears to contradict itself.
Examples: You can save money by spending it; What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young; You shouldn’t go in the water until you know how to swim; Your enemy’s friend is your enemy; Truth is honey which is bitter; I can resist anything but temptation
A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.
Examples: Justice is blind; Lady Liberty torch shines brightly still; Her heart skipped a beat; The sun smiled down on them; The stars winked; The car sputtered and coughed before starting
PUN
A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words. Another word for pun is paronomasia.
Examples: The wedding was so emotional that even the cake was in tiers; When a vulture flies he takes carrion luggage; You can tune a guitar, but you can’t tuna fish. Unless you play bass; Two silk worms had a race and ended in a tie; Denial is not just a river in Egypt
SIMILE
A stated comparison (usually formed with “like” or “as”) between two fundamentally dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common.
Examples: Our soldiers are as brave as lions; Her cheeks are red like a rose; He is as funny as a monkey; The water well was as dry as a bone; He is as cunning as a fox
SYNECDOCHE
A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole
Examples: Do you know your ABCs (ABCs for alphabet); England won the World Cup in 1966 (England refers to the National football team); Writing is my bread and butter (bread refers to food or money); You must stand before grey hair (grey hair refers to elders); Suits are such greedy, selfish people (suits for businessmen)
UNDERSTATEMENT
A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.
Examples: I’m a little tired. (After having not slept all night long); It’s a bit warm.(When one is sweating profusely in the midday sun)
See Also: 10 Figures of Speech with Examples (1)
