synecdoche
Part represents whole
Synecdoche is a figure of speech where a part represents the whole or vice versa.
When someone counts heads in a room, they mean people.
When the law arrives, it's a police officer.
Wheels can mean a car, hands can mean workers, and the White House can mean the president and staff.
The term is literary and rarely used outside discussions of rhetoric.
Substituting associated name
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
- tropeRecurring narrative device
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- personificationAttributing humanity to non-humans
simile · irony · hyperbole · litotes · oxymoron · paradox · antithesis · euphemism
Wordplay using double meanings
- paronomasiaRhetorical use of puns
- kenningFigurative Norse compound
- double meaningOne phrase, two senses
- substitutionExchange of one for another
Complete aggregate amount
- entiretyThe whole of something
- aggregateCombined sum total
- compositeMade of distinct parts
- gestaltIntegrated perceptual whole
macrocosm · ensemble · unity · completeness · sum · collection · assemblage · integration
Incomplete portion of whole
- portionDivided share given
- componentElement of a system
- elementBasic substance or factor
- constituentMember of electoral district
segment · piece · section · member · sample · specimen · division · subset
Formal eloquent discourse
- eloquencePersuasive verbal grace
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- elocutionFormal speaking skill
- flourishTo grow vigorously
amplification · grandiloquence · stylistics · persuasion · declamation · argumentation · exposition · device
metonymy
Substituting associated name
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
- tropeRecurring narrative device
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
personification · simile · irony · hyperbole · litotes · oxymoron · paradox · antithesis · euphemism · allusion
pun
Wordplay using double meanings
- paronomasiaRhetorical use of puns
- kenningFigurative Norse compound
- double meaningOne phrase, two senses
totality
Complete aggregate amount
gestalt · macrocosm · ensemble · unity · completeness · sum · collection · assemblage · integration · fullness
fragment
Incomplete portion of whole
constituent · segment · piece · section · member · sample · specimen · division · subset · detail
oratory
Formal eloquent discourse
- eloquencePersuasive verbal grace
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- elocutionFormal speaking skill
flourish · amplification · grandiloquence · stylistics · persuasion · declamation · argumentation · exposition · device · technique