Figure of speech

The four fundamental operations

Classical rhetoricians classified figures of speech into four categories or quadripartita ratio:

addition (adiectio), also called repetition/expansion/superabundance

omission (detractio), also called subtraction/abridgement/lack

transposition (transmutatio), also called transferring

permutation (immutatio), also called switching/interchange/substitution/transmutation

These categories are often still used. The earliest known text listing them, though not explicitly as a system, is the Rhetorica ad Herennium, of unknown authorship, where they are called πλεονασμός (addition), ἔνδεια (omission), μετάθεσις (transposition) and ἐναλλαγή (permutation). Quintillian then mentioned them in Institutio Oratoria. Philo of Alexandria also listed them as addition (πρόσθεσις), subtraction (ἀφαίρεσις), transposition (μετάθεσις), and transmutation (ἀλλοίωσις).

Examples

Figures of speech come in many varieties. The aim is to use the language inventively to accentuate the effect of what is being said. A few examples follow:

"Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran" is an example of [alliteration], where the consonant r is used repeatedly.

Whereas, "Sister Suzy sewing socks for soldiers" is a particular form of alliteration called sibilance, because it repeats the letter s. Both are commonly used in poetry.

"She would run up the stairs and then a new set of curtains" is a variety of zeugma called a syllepsis. Run up refers to ascending and also to manufacturing. The effect is enhanced by the momentary suggestion, through a pun, that she might be climbing up the curtains. The ellipsis or omission of the second use of the verb makes the reader think harder about what is being said.

"Military Intelligence is an oxymoron" is the use of direct sarcasm to suggest that the military would have no intelligence. This might be considered to be a satire and an aphorism.

"An Einstein" is an example of synecdoche, as it uses a particular name to represent a class of people: geniuses.

"I had butterflies in my stomach" is a metaphor, referring to a nervous feeling as if there were flying insects in one's stomach.

To say "it was like having some butterflies in my stomach" would be a simile, because it uses the word like which is missing in the metaphor. To say "It was like having a butterfly farm in my stomach," "It felt like a butterfly farm in my stomach," or "I was so nervous that I had a butterfly farm in my stomach" could be a hyperbole, because it is exaggerated.

"That filthy place was really dirty" is an example of tautology as there are the two words 'filthy' and 'dirty' having almost the same meaning and are repeated so as to make the text more emphatic.

Scholars of classical Western rhetoric have divided figures of speech into two main categories: schemes and tropes. Schemes (from the Greek schēma, form or shape) are figures of speech that change the ordinary or expected pattern of words. For example, the phrase, "John, my best friend" uses the scheme known as apposition. Tropes (from the Greek trepein, to turn) change the general meaning of words. An example of a trope is irony, which is the use of words to convey the opposite of their usual meaning ("For Brutus is an honorable man; / So are they all, all honorable men").

During the Renaissance, scholars meticulously enumerated and classified figures of speech. Henry Peacham, for example, in his The Garden of Eloquence (1577), enumerated 184 different figures of speech. Professor Robert DiYanni, in his book "Literature – Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama and the Essay" wrote: "Rhetoricians have catalogued more than 250 different figures of speech, expressions or ways of using words in a nonliteral sense.".

For simplicity, this article divides the figures between schemes and tropes, but does not further sub-classify them (e.g., "Figures of Disorder"). Within each category, words are listed alphabetically. Most entries link to a page that provides greater detail and relevant examples, but a short definition is placed here for convenience. Some of those listed may be considered rhetorical devices, which are similar in many ways.

Schemes

accumulation: Accumulating arguments in a concise forceful manner.

adnomination: Repetition of words with the same root word.

alliteration: It is a term that describes a literacy stylistic device. Alliteration occurs when a series of words in a row have the same first consonant sound.

(E.g.: She sells sea shells by the sea shore).

adynaton: hyperbole It is an extreme exaggeration used to make a point. It is like the opposite of "understatement".

(E.g.: I've told you a million times).

anacoluthon: Transposition of clauses to achieve an unnatural order in a sentence.

anadiplosis: Repetition of a word at the end of a clause and then at the beginning of its succeeding clause.

anaphora: Repetition of the same word or set of words in a paragraph.

anastrophe: Changing the object, subject and verb order in a clause.

Anti-climax: It is when a specific point, expectations are raised, everything is built-up and then suddenly something boring or disappointing happens.

(E.g.: Men, dogs and houses, all are dead).

antanaclasis: Repetition of a single word, but with different meanings.

anthimeria: Transformation of a word of a certain word class to another word class.

antimetabole: A sentence consisting of the repetition of words in successive clauses, but in reverse order.

antirrhesis: Disproving an opponent's argument.

antistrophe: Repetition of the same word or group of words in a paragraph in the end of sentences.

antithesis: Juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas.

aphorismus: Statement that calls into question the definition of a word.

aposiopesis: Breaking off or pausing speech for dramatic or emotional effect.

apposition: Placing of two statements side by side, in which the second defines the first.

assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds.

asteismus: Mocking answer or humorous answer that plays on a word.

asterismos: Beginning a segment of speech with an exclamation of a word.

asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions between related clauses.

cacophony: Words producing a harsh sound.

cataphora: Co-reference of one expression with another expression which follows it, in which the latter defines the first. (example: If you need one, there's a towel in the top drawer.)

classification: Linking a proper noun and a common noun with an article

chiasmus: Two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point

climax: Arrangement of words in order of descending to ascending order.

commoratio: Repetition of an idea, re-worded

conduplicatio: Repetition of a key word

conversion (word formation): An unaltered transformation of a word of one word class into another word class

consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse

dubitatio: Expressing doubt and uncertainty about oneself

dystmesis: A synonym for tmesis

ellipsis: Omission of words

elision: Omission of one or more letters in speech, making it colloquial

enallage: Wording ignoring grammatical rules or conventions

enjambment: Incomplete sentences at the end of lines in poetry

enthymeme: An informal syllogism

epanalepsis: Ending sentences with their beginning.

epanodos: Word repetition.

epistrophe: (also known as antistrophe) Repetition of the same word or group of words at the end of successive clauses. The counterpart of anaphora

epizeuxis: Repetition of a single word, with no other words in between

euphony: Opposite of cacophony – i.e. pleasant-sounding

half rhyme: Partially rhyming words

hendiadys: Use of two nouns to express an idea when it normally would consist of an adjective and a noun

hendiatris: Use of three nouns to express one idea

homeoptoton: ending the last parts of words with the same syllable or letter.

homographs: Words we write identically but which have a differing meaning

homoioteleuton: Multiple words with the same ending

homonyms: Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation and spelling, but different in meaning

homophones: Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation, but different in meaning

homeoteleuton: Words with the same ending

hypallage: A transferred epithet from a conventional choice of wording.

hyperbaton: Two ordinary associated words are detached. The term may also be used more generally for all different figures of speech which transpose natural word order in sentences.

hyperbole: Exaggeration of a statement

hypozeuxis: Every clause having its own independent subject and predicate

hysteron proteron: The inversion of the usual temporal or causal order between two elements

isocolon: Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive clauses

internal rhyme: Using two or more rhyming words in the same sentence

kenning: Using a compound word neologism to form a metonym

litotes derived from a Greek word meaning “simple”, is a figure of speech which employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions.

merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts

mimesis: Imitation of a person's speech or writing

onomatopoeia: Word that imitates a real sound (e.g. tick-tock or boom)

paradiastole: Repetition of the disjunctive pair "neither" and "nor"

parallelism: The use of similar structures in two or more clauses

paraprosdokian: Unexpected ending or truncation of a clause

parenthesis: A parenthetical entry

paroemion: Alliteration in which every word in a sentence or phrase begins with the same letter

parrhesia: Speaking openly or boldly, in a situation where it is unexpected (e.g. politics)

pleonasm: The use of more words than are needed to express meaning

polyptoton: Repetition of words derived from the same root

polysyndeton: Close repetition of conjunctions

pun: When a word or phrase is used in two(or more) different senses

rhythm: A synonym for parallelism

sibilance: Repetition of letter 's', it is a form of alliteration

sine dicendo: An inherently superfluous statement, the truth value of which can easily be taken for granted. When held under scrutiny, it becomes readily apparent that the statement has not in fact added any new or useful information to the conversation (e.g. 'It's always in the last place you look.')

solecism: Trespassing grammatical and syntactical rules

spoonerism: Switching place of syllables within two words in a sentence yielding amusement

superlative: Declaring something the best within its class i.e. the ugliest, the most precious

synathroesmus: Agglomeration of adjectives to describe something or someone

syncope: Omission of parts of a word or phrase

symploce: Simultaneous use of anaphora and epistrophe: the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning and the end of successive clauses

synchysis: Words that are intentionally scattered to create perplexment

synesis: Agreement of words according to the sense, and not the grammatical form

synecdoche: Referring to a part by its whole or vice versa

synonymia: Use of two or more synonyms in the same clause or sentence

tautology: Redundancy due to superfluous qualification; saying the same thing twice

tmesis: Insertions of content within a compound word

zeugma: The using of one verb for two or more actions

Tropes

accismus: expressing the want of something by denying it

allegory: Extended metaphor in which a symbolic story is told

allusion: Covert reference to another work of literature or art

ambiguity: Phrasing which can have two meanings

anacoenosis: Posing a question to an audience, often with the implication that it shares a common interest with the speaker

analogy: A comparison

anapodoton: Leaving a common known saying unfinished

antanaclasis: A form of pun in which a word is repeated in two different senses

anthimeria: Transforming a word's word class

anthropomorphism: Ascribing human characteristics to something that is not human, such as an animal or a god (see zoomorphism)

antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, but in switched order

antiphrasis: A name or a phrase used ironically.

antistasis: Repetition of a word in a different sense.

antonomasia: Substitution of a proper name for a phrase or vice versa

aphorism: Briefly phrased, easily memorable statement of a truth or opinion, an adage

apologia: Justifying one's actions

aporia: Faked or sincere puzzled questioning

apophasis: (Invoking) an idea by denying its (invocation)

appositive: Insertion of a parenthetical entry

apostrophe: Directing the attention away from the audience to an absent third party, often in the form of a personified abstraction or inanimate object.

archaism: Use of an obsolete, archaic word (a word used in olden language, e.g. Shakespeare's language)

auxesis: Form of hyperbole, in which a more important-sounding word is used in place of a more descriptive term

bathos: Pompous speech with a ludicrously mundane worded anti-climax

burlesque metaphor: An amusing, overstated or grotesque comparison or example.

catachresis: Blatant misuse of words or phrases.

categoria: Candidly revealing an opponent's weakness

cliché: Overused phrase or theme

circumlocution: Talking around a topic by substituting or adding words, as in euphemism or periphrasis

commiseration: Evoking pity in the audience

congeries: Accumulation of synonymous or different words or phrases together forming a single message

correctio: Linguistic device used for correcting one's mistakes, a form of which is epanorthosis

dehortatio: discouraging advice given with seeming sagacity

denominatio: Another word for metonymy

diathesis: Articulating silence or mood

diatyposis: The act of giving counsel

double negative: Grammar construction that can be used as an expression and it is the repetition of negative words

dirimens copulatio: Juxtaposition of two ideas with a similar message

distinctio: Defining or specifying the meaning of a word or phrase you use

dysphemism: Substitution of a harsher, more offensive, or more disagreeable term for another. Opposite of euphemism

dubitatio: Expressing doubt over one's ability to hold speeches, or doubt over other ability

ekphrasis: Lively describing something you see, often a painting

epanorthosis: Immediate and emphatic self-correction, often following a slip of the tongue

encomium: A speech consisting of praise; a eulogy

enumeratio: A sort of amplification and accumulation in which specific aspects are added up to make a point

epicrisis: Mentioning a saying and then commenting on it

epiplexis: Rhetorical question displaying disapproval or debunks

epithymonexphrasos: Speak in such a way making others wish to speak, not to oppose than to join the conversation, exhortation, exoptamus.

epitrope: Initially pretending to agree with an opposing debater or invite one to do something

erotema: Synonym for rhetorical question

erotesis: Rhetorical question asked in confident expectation of a negative answer

euphemism: Substitution of a less offensive or more agreeable term for another

grandiloquence: Pompous speech

exclamation: A loud calling or crying out

humour: Provoking laughter and providing amusement

hyperbaton: Words that naturally belong together separated from each other for emphasis or effect

hyperbole: Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis

hypocatastasis: An implication or declaration of resemblance that does not directly name both terms

hypophora: Answering one's own rhetorical question at length

hysteron proteron: Reversal of anticipated order of events; a form of hyperbaton

innuendo: Having a hidden meaning in a sentence that makes sense whether it is detected or not

invective: The act of insulting

inversion: A reversal of normal word order, especially the placement of a verb ahead of the subject (subject-verb inversion).

imperative sentence: The urging to do something

irony: Use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its usual meaning

kataphora: Repetition of a cohesive device at the end

litotes: Emphasizing the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite

malapropism: Using a word through confusion with a word that sounds similar

meiosis: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of something

merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts

metalepsis: Figurative speech is used in a new context

metaphor: Figurative language

metonymy: A thing or concept is called not by its own name but rather by the name of something associated in meaning with that thing or concept

neologism: The use of a word or term that has recently been created, or has been in use for a short time. Opposite of archaism

non sequitur: Statement that bears no relationship to the context preceding

occupatio: Mentioning something by reportedly not mentioning it

onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meaning

oxymoron: Using two terms together, that normally contradict each other

par'hyponoian: Replacing in a phrase or text a second part, that would have been logically expected.

parable: Extended metaphor told as an anecdote to illustrate or teach a moral lesson

paradiastole: Making a euphemism out of what usually is considered adversive

paradox: Use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out some underlying truth

paradiastole: Extenuating a vice in order to flatter or soothe

paraprosdokian: Phrase in which the latter part causes a rethinking or reframing of the beginning

paralipsis: Drawing attention to something while pretending to pass it over

parody: Humouristic imitation

paronomasia: Pun, in which similar-sounding words but words having a different meaning are used

pathetic fallacy: Ascribing human conduct and feelings to nature

periphrasis: A synonym for circumlocution

personification/prosopopoeia/anthropomorphism: Attributing or applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena

pleonasm: The use of more words than is necessary for clear expression

praeteritio: Another word for paralipsis

procatalepsis: Refuting anticipated objections as part of the main argument

proslepsis: Extreme form of paralipsis in which the speaker provides great detail while feigning to pass over a topic

prothesis: Adding a syllable to the beginning of a word

proverb: Succinct or pithy, often metaphorical, expression of wisdom commonly believed to be true

pun: Play on words that will have two meanings

rhetorical question: Asking a question as a way of asserting something. Asking a question which already has the answer hidden in it. Or asking a question not for the sake of getting an answer but for asserting something (or as in a poem for creating a poetic effect)

satire: Humoristic criticism of society

sensory detail imagery: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell

sesquipedalianism: use of long and obscure words

simile: Comparison between two things using like or as

snowclone: Alteration of cliché or phrasal template

style: how information is presented

superlative: Saying that something is the best of something or has the most of some quality, e.g. the ugliest, the most precious etc.

syllepsis: The use of a word in its figurative and literal sense at the same time or a single word used in relation to two other parts of a sentence although the word grammatically or logically applies to only one

syncatabasis (condescension, accommodation): adaptation of style to the level of the audience

synchoresis: A concession made for the purpose of retorting with greater force.

synecdoche: Form of metonymy, referring to a part by its whole, or a whole by its part

synesthesia: Description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.

tautology: Superfluous repetition of the same sense in different words Example: The children gathered in a round circle

transferred epithet: A synonym for hypallage.

truism: a self-evident statement

tricolon diminuens: Combination of three elements, each decreasing in size

tricolon crescens: Combination of three elements, each increasing in size

verbal paradox: Paradox specified to language

verba ex ore: Taking the words out of someone’s mouth, speaking of what the interlocutor wanted to say.

verba volitans: A word that floats in the air, on which everyone is thinking and is just about to be imposed.

zeugma: Use of a single verb to describe two or more actions

zoomorphism: Applying animal characteristics to humans or gods