metaphorical language
Non-literal speech patterns
Metaphorical language uses words beyond their literal meanings to draw comparisons or create vivid imagery.
Rather than saying someone is sad, you might say she's carrying a heavy heart.
It encompasses metaphors, similes, and other figurative expressions that illuminate one thing by connecting it to another: Time is money, life is a journey, drowning in work.
- idiomsFixed figurative expressions
- simileComparison via "as"
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- metonymySubstituting associated name
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
idiomatic expression · turn of phrase · personification · synecdoche · tenor and vehicle · imagery · figure of speech · hyperbole · analogy · allusion · proverbs · between the lines · polysemy · evocative · suggestive · flowery · purple prose · poetic license
- literary devicessimile, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia
- figurative languagesimile, figure of speech, analogy, personification, figures of speech
- proverbsproverbs, sayings, maxims, adages, aphorisms
- folk wisdomproverb, folklore, folk sayings, saying, proverbs
- imaginationimagination, daydreaming, daydreams, fantasies, fantasy
- wisdomwisdom, sagacity, sapience, discernment, insight
metaphorical languagetechnical language
Specialized vocabulary of a field
scientific language · descriptive language · legalese · jargon