Figurative Language Terms & Examples

Front

Comparison using 'like' or 'as'

Back

Simile

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Front

Giving human traits to animals or objects

Back

Personification

Tags

CCSS.L.6.5A

Front

Phrase with opposite words

Back

Oxymoron

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5A

Front

Extreme exaggeration

Back

Hyperbole

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Front

Opposite of intended meaning (situational, verbal, dramatic)

Back

Irony

Tags

CCSS.L.8.5A

Front

Comparison of two unlike things without 'like' or 'as'

Back

Metaphor

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Front

A phrase meaning something different than its literal meaning.

Back

Idiom

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

Front

Repetition of the same initial consonant sounds

Back

Alliteration

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

Front

A word that imitates its sound.

Back

Onomatopoeia

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.L.7.5

CCSS.L.8.5

Front

Humorous word substitution that sounds alike but differs in meaning.

Back

Pun

Tags

CCSS.L.8.5A