FIGURES OF SPEECH

word.

Schemes

accumulation: Accumulating arguments in a concise forceful

adnomination: Repetition of words with the same root word.

alliteration: Series of words that begin with the same consonant.

adynaton: hyperbole taken to such extreme lengths insinuating a

anacoluthon: Transposition of clauses to achieve an unnatural order

of a sentence.

anadiplosis: Repetition of a word at the end of a clause and then at

the beginning of its succeeding clause.

anaphora: Repetition of the same word or group of words in a

paragraph.

assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds.

asteismus: Mocking answer or humorous answer that plays on a

word.

asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions between related clauses.

cacophony: Words producing a harsh sound.

cataphora: Co-reference of one expression with another expression

which follows it, in which the latter defines the first. (example: If you

anastrophe: Changing the object, subject and verb order in a

anticlimax: An abrupt descent (either deliberate or unintended) on

need one, there's a towel in the top drawer.)

anthimeria: Transformation of a word of a certain word class to

chiasmus: Two or more clauses are related to each other through a

reversal of structures in order to make a larger point

antanaclasis Repetition of a single word, but with different

meanings.

classification: Linking a proper noun and a common noun with an

article

the part of a speaker or writer from the dignity of idea which he

appeared to be aiming at.

asterismos: Beginning a segment of speech with an exclamation of

a word.

clause.

apposition: Placing of two statements side by side, in which the

second defines the first.

complete impossibility.

aposiopesis: Breaking off or pausing speech for dramatic or

emotional effect.

manner.

aphorismus: Statement that calls into question the definition of a

climax: Arrangement of words in order of increasing importance

commoratio: Repetition of an idea, re-worded

conduplicatio: Repetition of a key word

Conversion (word formation): An unaltered transformation of a word

another word class.

antimetabole: A sentence consisting of the repetition of words in

successive clauses, in reverse order.

of one word class into another word class

antirrhesis: Disproving an opponents argument.

antistrophe: Repetition of the same word or group of words in a

consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds, most commonly

within a short passage of verse

paragraph in the end of sentences.

antithesis: Juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas.

dubitatio: Expressing doubt and uncertainty about oneself

dystmesis: A synonym for tmesis

homeoteleuton: Words with the same ending

ellipsis: Omission of words

hypallage: A transferred epitaph from a conventional choice of

wording.[10]

elision: Exclusion of a letter from a word or phrase

enallage: Wording ignoring grammatical rules or conventions

hyperbaton: Two ordinary assosciated words are detached.[11][12] The

term may also be used more generally for all different figures of speech
which transpose natural word order in sentences.[12]

enjambment: Incomplete syntax at the end of lines in poetry

enthymeme: An informal syllogism

epanalepsis: Ending sentences with how they begin. "Book ends"

epanodos: Word repetition.[6][7][8]

epistrophe: (also known as antistrophe) Repetition of the same

word or group of words at the end of successive clauses. The

hyperbole: Exaggeration of a statement

hypozeuxis Every clause having its own independent subject and

predicate

order between two elements

counterpart of anaphora

epizeuxis Repetition of a single word, with no other words in

euphony: Opposite of cacophony - i.e. pleasant sounding

half rhyme: Partially rhyming words

hendiadys: Use of two nouns to express an idea when it normally

isocolon: Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive

clauses

between

hysteron proteron: The inversion of the usual temporal or causal

internal rhyme: Using two or more rhyming words in the same

sentence

kenning: Using a compound word neologism to form a metonym

merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts

mimesis: Imitation of a person's speech or writing

onomatopoeia: Word that imitates a real sound (e.g. tick-tock or

would consist of an adjective and a noun

hendiatris: Use of three nouns to express one idea

homeoptoton: ending the last parts of words with the same syllable

boom)

paradiastole: Repetition of the disjunctive pair "neither" and "nor"

parallelism: The use of similar structures in two or more clauses

paraprosdokian: Unexpected ending or truncation of a clause

or letter.[9]

homographs: Words we write identically but which have a differing

meaning

homoioteleuton: Multiple words with the same ending

parenthesis: A parenthetical entry

homonyms: Words that are identical with each other in

paroemion: Alliteration in which every word in a sentence or phrase

pronunciation and spelling, but different in meaning

homophones: Words that are identical with each other in

pronunciation, but different in meaning

begins with the same letter

parrhesia: Speaking openly or boldly, in a situation where it is

unexpected (i.e. politics)

pleonasm: The use of additional words than are needed to express

meaning

tautology: Redundancy due to superfluous qualification; saying the

same thing twice

polyptoton: Repetition of words derived from the same root

tmesis: Insertions of content within a compound word

polysyndeton: Close repetition of conjunctions

zeugma: The using of one verb for two or more actions

pun: When a word or phrase is used in two(or more) different

Tropes

senses

accismus: expressing the want of something by denying it[14]

allegory: Extended metaphor in which a symbolic story is told

allusion: Covert reference to another work of literature or art

ambiguity: Phrasing which can have two meanings

anacoenosis: Posing a question to an audience, often with the

rhythm: A synonym for parallelism[13]

sibilance: Repetition of letter 's', it is a form of alliteration

sine dicendo: A statement that is so obvious it need not be stated,

and if stated, it seems almost pointless (e.g. 'It's always in the last place
you look.')

solecism: Trespassing grammatical and syntactical rules

spoonerism: Switching place of syllables within two words in a

implication that it shares a common interest with the speaker

analogy: A comparison

anapodoton: Leaving a common known saying unfinished

antanaclasis: A form of pun in which a word is repeated in two

sentence yielding amusement

superlative: Declaring something the best within its class i.e. the
ugliest, the most precious

different senses

synathroesmus: Agglomeration of adjectives to describe something

or someone

syncope: Omission of parts of a word or phrase

anthimeria: Transformating a word's word class

anthropomorphism: Ascribing human characteristics to something

that is not human, such as an animal or a god (see zoomorphism)

symploce: Simultaneous use of anaphora and epistrophe: the

repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning and the

switched order

end of successive clauses

synchysis: Words that are intentionally scattered to create

perplexment

synesis: Agreement of words according to the sense, and not the

grammatical form

synecdoche: Referring to a part by its whole or vice versa

synonymia: Use of two or more synonyms in the same clause or

sentence

antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, but in

antiphrasis: A name or a phrase used ironically.

antistasis: Repetition of a word in a different sense.

antonomasia: Substitution of a proper name for a phrase or vice

versa

aphorism: Briefly phrased, easily memorable statement of a truth or

opinion, an adage

apologia: Justifying one's actions

aporia: Faked or sincere puzzled questioning

double negative: Grammar construction that can be used as an

expression and it is the repetition of negative words

apophasis: (Invoking) an idea by denying its (invocation)

appositive: Insertion of a parenthetical entry

apostrophe: Directing the attention away from the audience to an

dirimens copulatio: Juxtaposition of two ideas with a similar

message

absent third party, often in the form of a personified abstraction or

distinctio: Defining or specifying the meaning of a word or phrase

you use

inanimate object.

archaism: Use of an obsolete, archaic, word (a word used in olden

dysphemism: Substitution of a harsher, more offensive, or more

disagreeable term for another. Opposite of euphemism

language, e.g. Shakespeare's language)

auxesis: Form of hyperbole, in which a more important sounding

dubitatio: Expressing doubt over one's ability to hold speeches, or

doubt over other ability

word is used in place of a more descriptive term

ekphrasis: Lively describing something you see, often a painting

epanorthosis: Immediate and emphatic self-correction, often

bathos: Pompous speech with a ludicrously mundane worded anticlimax

following a slip of the tongue

burlesque metaphor: An amusing, overstated or grotesque

comparison or examplification.

catachresis: Blatant misuse of words or phrases.

encomium: A speech consisting of praise; a eulogy

enumeratio: A sort of amplification and accumulation in which

specific aspects are added up to make a point

categoria: Candidly revealing an opponent's weakness

clich: Overused phrase or theme

circumlocution: Talking around a topic by substituting or adding

words, as in euphemism or periphrasis

epicrisis: Mentioning a saying and then commenting on it

epiplexis: Rhetorical question displaying disapproval or debunks

epitrope: Initially pretending to agree with an opposing debater or

invite one to do something

commiseration: Evoking pity in the audience

erotema: Synonym for rhetorical question

erotesis: Rhetorical question expressing approvement or refusal of

congeries: Accumulation of synonymous or different words or

phrases together forming a single message

belief in

correctio: Linguistic device used for correcting one's mistakes, a

form of which is epanorthosis

euphemism: Substitution of a less offensive or more agreeable term

for another

dehortatio: discouraging advice given with seeming sagacity

denominatio: Another word for metonymy

grandiloquence: Pompous speech

exclamation: A loud calling or crying out

Invective: The act of insulting

diatyposis: The act of giving counsel

humour: Provoking laughter and providing amusement

metonymy: A thing or concept is called not by its own name but

rather by the name of something associated in meaning with that thing

hyperbaton: Words that naturally belong together are separated

or concept

from each other for emphasis or effect

hyperbole: Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis

hypocatastasis: An implication or declaration of resemblance that

neologism: The use of a word or term that has recently been

created, or has been in use for a short time. Opposite of archaism

does not directly name both terms

non sequitur: Statement that bears no relationship to the context

preceding

hypophora: Answering one's own rhetorical question at length

occupatio Mentioning something by reportedly not mentioning it

hysteron proteron: Reversal of anticipated order of events; a form of

onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meaning

oxymoron: Using two terms together, that normally contradict each

hyperbaton

innuendo: Having a hidden meaning in a sentence that makes

other

sense whether it is detected or not

inversion: A reversal of normal word order, especially the placement

par'hyponoian: Replacing in a phrase or text a second part, that

would have been logically expected.

of a verb ahead of the subject (subject-verb inversion).

imperative sentence: The urging to do something

irony: Use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its

teach a moral lesson

usual meaning

kataphora: Repetition of a cohesive device at the end

litotes: Emphasizing the magnitude of a statement by denying its

parable: Extended metaphor told as an anecdote to illustrate or

paradiastole: Making a euphemism out of what usually is

considered adversive

paradox: Use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out some

underlying truth

opposite

malapropism: Using a word through confusion with a word that

paradiastole: Extenuating a vice in order to flatter or soothe

paraprosdokian: Phrase in which the latter part causes a rethinking

sounds similar

meiosis: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance

or reframing of the beginning

of something

paralipsis: Drawing attention to something while pretending to pass

it over

merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts

parody: Humouristic imitation

metalepsis: Figurative speech is used in a new context

paronomasia: Pun, in which similar sounding words but words

metaphor: Figurative language

having a different meaning are used

pathetic fallacy: Ascribing human conduct and feelings to nature

periphrasis: A synonym for circumlocution

personification/prosopopoeia/anthropomorphism: Attributing or

applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or natural

superlative: Saying that something is the best of something or has

the most of some quality, e.g. the ugliest, the most precious etc.

phenomena

pleonasm: The use of more words than is necessary for clear

syllepsis: The use of a word in its figurative and literal sense at the
same time or where a single word is used in relation to two other parts of

expression

a sentence although the word grammatically or logically applies to only

one

praeteritio: Another word for paralipsis

procatalepsis: Refuting anticipated objections as part of the main

syncatabasis (condescension, accommodation): adaptation of style

to the level of the audience

argument

proslepsis: Extreme form of paralipsis in which the speaker

synchoresis: A concession made for the purpose of retorting with

greater force.

provides great detail while feigning to pass over a topic

prothesis: Adding a syllable to the beginning of a word

proverb: Succinct or pithy, often metaphorical, expression of

a whole by its part

wisdom commonly believed to be true

pun: Play on words that will have two meanings

rhetorical question: Asking a question as a way of asserting

synecdoche: Form of metonymy, referring to a part by its whole, or

synesthesia: Description of one kind of sense impression by using

words that normally describe another.

tautology: Superflous repetition of the same sense in different

words Example: The children gathered in a round circle

something. Asking a question which already has the answer hidden in it.

transferred epithet: A synonym for hypallage.

truism: a self-evident statement

tricolon diminuens: Combination of three elements, each

Or asking a question not for the sake of getting an answer but for
asserting something (or as in a poem for creating a poetic effect)

satire: Humoristic criticism of society

sensory detail imagery: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell

decreasing in size

tricolon crescens: Combination of three elements, each increasing

sesquipedalianism: use of long and obscure words

simile: Comparison between two things using like or as

verbal paradox: Paradox specified to language

snowclone: Alteration of clich or phrasal template

zeugma: Use of a single verb to describe two or more actions

style: how information is presented

zoomorphism: Applying animal characteristics to humans or gods

in size