What is Figurative Language?

Sometimes called figures of speech or expressions, figurative language includes words or phrases that mean something different than the individual words might indicate. It’s a way to make writing more descriptive, creative, and interesting. Each kind of figurative language has unique characteristics:

Idiom: Expressions that mean something different than the actual words. These are fairly common and are often phrases you’ve hear before.

Examples: Raining cats and dogs; to wrap your head around something; the dog ate my homework; break a leg; we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it; it’s all Greek to me; a piece of cake

Metaphor: A figure of speech that compares two things by saying something is something else.

Examples: The snow is a soft pillow; he is a roaring lion; my stomach is an erupting volcano

Simile: A type of metaphor where two things are compared using “like” or “as”

Examples: She’s as happy as a clam; your arms are like a warm blanket wrapped around me; Doing math is like a nightmare to me.

Alliteration: The repetition of the first letter or sound of each word in a sentence.

Examples: Voracious volcanoes vibrated the valley violently; A whiff of warm waffles came wafting

Hyperbole: Includes an exaggeration that couldn’t really happen in real life.

Examples: You’ve waited a million years to go back to school; I died of embarrassment; My sandwich was bigger than an elephant

Onomatopoeia: A word that originates from, or represents a sound.

Examples: Ding-dong; Crack; Thud; honk; wack; ring; splash; bark; splat

Personification: Giving human traits to objects, concepts, or animals.

Examples: The stars are winking at us; The grass is dancing in the wind