BED14 – Teaching English in the Elementary Grades through Literature

1. Simile
Definition: A comparison using "like" or "as."
Example: Her smile was as bright as the sun.
Her eyes sparkled like stars.
He was as brave as a lion.

2. Metaphor
Definition: A direct comparison without using "like" or "as."
Example: Time is a thief.
The classroom was a zoo.
His words were music to her ears.

3. Personification
Definition: Giving human qualities to non-human things.
Example: The wind whispered through the trees.
The flowers danced in the breeze.
The alarm clock screamed at me this morning.

4. Hyperbole
Definition: Extreme exaggeration.
Example: I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
I've told you a million times.
She cried a river of tears.

5. Irony
Definition: The opposite of what is expected or meant.
Example: A fire station burns down.
A pilot afraid of heights.
Posting a video about how boring and useless videos are.

6. Oxymoron
Definition: Two contradictory words side by side.
Example: Deafening silence.
Bittersweet memory.
Jumbo shrimp.

7. Paradox
Definition: A self-contradictory statement that may reveal a truth.
Example: Less is more.
I know one thing: that I know nothing.
This is the beginning of the end.

8. Litotes
Definition: Understatement by using double negatives.
Example: She’s not unlike her sister.
He’s not the worst singer.
That’s not entirely untrue.
 BED14 – Teaching English in the Elementary Grades through Literature

9. Synecdoche
Definition: A part representing the whole.
Example: All hands on deck! (hands = sailors)
Nice wheels! (wheels = car)
The crown will find an heir. (crown = monarchy)

10. Metonymy
Definition: Substituting a related word for the thing meant.
Example: The pen is mightier than the sword. ("Pen" stands for writing.)
Hollywood is obsessed with sequels. (Hollywood = film industry)
The White House issued a statement. (White House = U.S. government)

11. Apostrophe
Definition: Addressing someone absent or something nonhuman as if it could respond.
Example: O death, where is thy sting?
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are!
Oh, nature, thou art my goddess.

12. Alliteration
Definition: Repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words.
Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Sally sells seashells by the seashore.
Big bad bear bit the boy.

13. Assonance
Definition: Repetition of vowel sounds.
Example: Hear the mellow wedding bells.
The early bird catches the worm.
I rose and told him of my woe.

14. Consonance
Definition: Repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the end of words.
Example: The lumpy, bumpy road.
Toss the glass, boss.
The ship has sailed to the far off shores.

15. Onomatopoeia
Definition: Words that imitate sounds.
Example: The bees buzzed.
The door creaked open.
The fire crackled and popped.

16. Euphemism
Definition: A polite or mild word used instead of a harsh one.
Example: He was let go from the company after the restructuring. (“Let go” is a euphemism for
“fired.”)
She comes from an economically disadvantaged background, but she’s achieved so much.
(“Economically disadvantaged” is a euphemism for “poor.”)
He passed away peacefully in his sleep. (“Passed away” is a euphemism for “died.”)

17. Pun
 BED14 – Teaching English in the Elementary Grades through Literature

Definition: A play on words with double meanings.

Example: Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
I used to be a baker, but I couldn't make enough dough.
I’m reading a book on anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down.

18. Anaphora
Definition: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.
Example: Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better.
I have a dream... I have a dream...
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds...

19. Epistrophe
Definition: Repetition at the end of successive clauses.
Example: See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
Government of the people, by the people, for the people.
I want the best, and we need the best, and we deserve the best.

20. Climax
Definition: Arrangement of words in order of increasing importance.
Example: He came, he saw, he conquered.
He fought, he struggled, he triumphed.
She came, she saw, she changed the world.

21. Antithesis
Definition: Contrasting ideas in a balanced sentence.
Example: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Speech is silver, but silence is golden.
To err is human; to forgive, divine.

22. Chiasmus
Definition: Reversal of grammatical structures in successive clauses.
Example: Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You.
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.

23. Zeugma
Definition: One word governs two other words not related in meaning.
Example: She broke his car and his heart.
He stole my heart and my wallet.
She lost her keys and her temper.

24. Tautology
Definition: Redundant repetition.
Example: Free gift.
I personally think this is the best choice.
It was an unexpected surprise.

25. Pleonasm
 BED14 – Teaching English in the Elementary Grades through Literature

Definition: Use of more words than necessary for emphasis.

Example: I saw it with my own eyes.
I saw it with my own eyes.
They heard it with their own ears.

26. Antonomasia
Definition: Substituting a proper name for a common noun or vice versa.
Example: He’s the Einstein of our class. (Einstein = genius)
He’s a real Romeo with the ladies.
The King of Pop has a new album. (Michael Jackson)

27. Meiosis
Definition: Intentional understatement, opposite of hyperbole.
Example: It’s just a scratch, (referring to a large wound)
It’s no big deal, just a small tumor.
He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.

28. Anadiplosis
Definition: Repetition of the last word of a clause at the beginning of the next.
Example: Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
Strength through unity, unity through faith.
The love of wicked men converts to fear, that fear to hate, and hate turns one or both to worthy
danger.

29. Polyptoton
Definition: Repetition of words derived from the same root.
Example: With eager feeding, food doth choke the feeder.
Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.
Choosy mothers choose Jif.

30. Polysemy
Definition: Use of a word that has multiple meanings.
Example: He threw a ball. (Could mean a toy or a formal dance)
He went to the bank. (Could mean riverbank or financial institution)
She left the match early. (Could mean a sports game or a fire-starting stick)

JEAH ABIGAIL F. FELOSOFO

BEED – 3A