metaphor
Saying one's another
A metaphor i language that transfers literal meaning to a context where it cannot apply literally, such as drowning in debt.
By combining imagines from different domains, metaphor is commonly used to make language more vivid.
It is also common for words develop new meanings and become more frequent than their non-metaphoric use.
Ride roughshod, for example, does not bring to mind people riding horses with spiked shoes (the literal meaning), but simply of harsh and insensitive treatment of someone.
Metered poetic passage
- stanzaPoem's line grouping
- imageryVivid descriptive language
- sonnetFourteen-line metered poem
- odeLaudatory verse form
lyric · rhyme · rhythm · meter · alliteration · assonance · cadence · elegy
Attributing humanity to non-humans
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- metonymySubstituting associated name
- synecdochePart standing for whole
- imageryVivid descriptive language
allusion · paradox · oxymoron · irony · antithesis · apostrophe · trope · figure
Pictorial screen symbol
- emblemRepresentational sign or device
- representationDepiction or likeness
- motifRecurring thematic element
- totemSpiritual clan symbol
archetype · signifier · allegory · parable · fable · myth · personification · typify
Explanatory likeness between things
- simileComparison via "as"
- likenessVisual similarity or representation
- resemblanceLikeness between things
- parallelEquidistant at all points
juxtaposition · correspondence · equivalence · correlation · affinity · congruity · counterpart · mirror
Conveyed thought or feeling
- languageSystem of symbolic communication
- idiomFixed phrase, opaque meaning
- phraseologyManner of verbal expression
- dictionChoice of words
terminology · lexicon · usage · coinage · phrasing · wording · articulation · figurative language
verse
Metered poetic passage
ode · lyric · rhyme · rhythm · meter · alliteration · assonance · cadence · elegy · epic
personification
Attributing humanity to non-humans
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- metonymySubstituting associated name
- synecdochePart standing for whole
imagery · allusion · paradox · oxymoron · irony · antithesis · apostrophe · trope · figure · conceit
icon
Pictorial screen symbol
- emblemRepresentational sign or device
- representationDepiction or likeness
- motifRecurring thematic element
totem · archetype · signifier · allegory · parable · fable · myth · personification · typify · exemplify
analogy
Explanatory likeness between things
- simileComparison via "as"
- likenessVisual similarity or representation
- resemblanceLikeness between things
parallel · juxtaposition · correspondence · equivalence · correlation · affinity · congruity · counterpart · mirror · reflection
expression
Conveyed thought or feeling
- languageSystem of symbolic communication
- idiomFixed phrase, opaque meaning
- phraseologyManner of verbal expression
diction · terminology · lexicon · usage · coinage · phrasing · wording · articulation · figurative language · literal
persuasion
Convincing through reasoning
illustration · vivid · evocative · powerful · striking · apt · fresh · clichéd · overused · stale
mapping
Diagram of correspondences
frame · schema · cognitive · embodied · spatial · ontological · structural · container · journey · war
- literaturebooks, book, fiction, poetry, stories
- poetrypoem, poems, poetry, verse, verses
- comparisonscomparison, compare, comparative, analogy, simile
- figuresfigure of speech, figure, trope, simile, hyperbole
- literary analysisliterary analysis, character analysis, book review, plot, critical analysis
- literary devicessimile, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia
metaphorliteralism
Exact meaning only
literal meaning · denotation · plain speech · directness · fact
- poetic metaphorsSymbolic comparisons in verse
- mixed metaphorsIncongruent imagery combined
- extended metaphorFigurative comparison throughout text
- sports metaphorsPhrases borrowed from athletics
- visual metaphorConcept shown through imagery
- dead metaphorFigurative phrase now literal-seeming
metaphors, metaphysical, metaphorical, metaphoric, metaphorically