Figurative Language: 22 Types With Definitions and Examples (Simile, Metaphor, Personification...) + Chart (PDF)

Article 313 · English

"Figurative language" is a grade 3 to 10 phrase in every English-speaking curriculum: the standards list the types, the worksheets ask students to name them, and the exams ask what they do. The naming is the easy half, and even that goes wrong on the four pairs that look alike. This page is the chart: twenty-two types with a plain definition and two examples each, the confusable pairs side by side, the three-step method for writing about the effect that the mark schemes reward, and where each grade meets them. The printable has the chart and practice on two pages.

Download the figurative language chart (PDF) (the 22 types with definitions and examples, the four confusable pairs, the three-step method, and fifteen practice sentences with answers; two pages, free).

What figurative language is

Figurative language uses words to mean more than, or something other than, their literal meaning. Literal language means exactly what it says: "it rained heavily". Figurative language says "it rained cats and dogs" (idiom), "the sky opened" (metaphor), "the rain hammered the roof" (personification and metaphor), "it rained for forty days and forty nights" (hyperbole and allusion). The figurative versions are not false; they are a different way of being true, and a reader processes them as pictures, sounds and feelings rather than as facts.

Figurative language is divided, roughly, into figures of comparison (simile, metaphor, personification, analogy), figures of exaggeration and contradiction (hyperbole, understatement, oxymoron, paradox, irony), figures of sound (alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia), figures of substitution (metonymy, synecdoche, euphemism, idiom, pun), and figures of reference (imagery, symbolism, allusion, apostrophe).

The 22 types

Type	Definition	Examples
Simile	a comparison of two unlike things using like, as, than or resembles	as busy as a bee; her smile was like sunshine; faster than a speeding bullet
Metaphor	a direct comparison that says one thing is another	time is a thief; the world's a stage; he has a heart of stone
Personification	a non-human thing given human qualities or actions	the wind whispered through the trees; the car refused to start; opportunity knocked
Hyperbole	deliberate exaggeration for effect, not meant literally	I've told you a million times; I could eat a horse; this bag weighs a ton
Understatement (litotes)	deliberately saying less than is true, often for humour or politeness	"it's a bit chilly" of a blizzard; "not bad" of a masterpiece; Mercutio's "a scratch" of a fatal wound
Idiom	a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its words	break a leg; spill the beans; under the weather; piece of cake
Alliteration	repetition of the same first consonant sound in nearby words	Peter Piper picked a peck; sweet silent sea; the big bad wolf
Assonance	repetition of a vowel sound inside nearby words	the rain in Spain; fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese; go slow over the road
Consonance	repetition of a consonant sound at the middle or end of nearby words	pitter patter; the lumpy bumpy road; blank and think
Onomatopoeia	a word that imitates the sound it names	buzz, crash, sizzle, hiss, bang, murmur, clatter, boom
Oxymoron	two contradictory words placed together	deafening silence; bittersweet; living dead; jumbo shrimp; open secret
Paradox	a statement that contradicts itself yet contains a truth	less is more; I must be cruel to be kind; the only constant is change
Irony: verbal	saying the opposite of what is meant	"lovely weather" in a downpour; "great, another meeting"
Irony: situational	the opposite of what was expected happens	a fire station burns down; the lifeguard drowns; the marriage counsellor divorces
Irony: dramatic	the audience knows what a character does not	Juliet is alive when Romeo drinks the poison; the viewer sees the killer behind the door
Pun	a play on words with two meanings or two words that sound alike	a boiled egg every morning is hard to beat; the bicycle couldn't stand up because it was two-tired
Metonymy	a thing named by something associated with it	the crown (the monarchy); the White House said (the president); Hollywood (the film industry); the pen is mightier than the sword
Synecdoche	a part stands for the whole, or the whole for a part	all hands on deck (sailors); nice wheels (car); England won (the team); the law arrived (a police officer)
Euphemism	a mild or indirect word for something unpleasant or blunt	passed away (died); let go (fired); between jobs; senior citizen; restroom
Imagery	language that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch)	the sour tang of lemon; the gravel crunched under the tyres; a velvet darkness
Symbolism	an object or image that stands for an idea beyond itself	a dove for peace; a red rose for love; the green light in The Great Gatsby; a journey for life
Allusion	an indirect reference to a well-known story, person or work	an Achilles' heel; a Scrooge; a Pandora's box; to meet your Waterloo
Apostrophe	addressing someone absent, dead, or something non-human as if it could hear	"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"; "Twinkle, twinkle, little star"; "Come on, car, start!"
Analogy	an extended comparison that explains one thing through another	the heart is a pump; a cell is like a factory, with the nucleus as the office and the mitochondria as the power plant

That is 24 rows, because irony has three kinds; the allusion page has eighty allusions with their sources.

The four pairs students confuse

Pair	The difference	Test
Simile and metaphor	a simile keeps the two things separate with like or as; a metaphor says one is the other	Is there a "like" or "as"? Simile.
Metonymy and synecdoche	synecdoche is part for whole (or whole for part); metonymy is an associated thing that is not a part	Is the substitute physically part of the thing? Synecdoche.
Oxymoron and paradox	an oxymoron is two contradictory words; a paradox is a contradictory statement with a truth in it	Two words side by side? Oxymoron. A sentence? Paradox.
Hyperbole and idiom	hyperbole exaggerates and can be invented on the spot; an idiom is a fixed phrase everyone already knows	Could you change the words and keep the effect? Hyperbole. Fixed phrase? Idiom.

And two more: personification gives human qualities to a non-human (the wind whispered), while anthropomorphism makes it act fully as a human (a talking rabbit in a waistcoat); imagery is any sensory description, while symbolism is an image that carries an idea beyond itself.

How to write about the effect

Name and quote the device: "Shakespeare uses a metaphor, 'Juliet is the sun'."
Unpack it: what two things are joined, or what is literally claimed? "Juliet is compared to the sun, the source of light, warmth and life."
Say what it does here: "so Romeo's world now revolves around her, and everything else, including the moon he associates with Rosaline, is dim by comparison."

The spotting is one mark. The unpacking and the effect are the rest, and "it makes the reader want to read on" earns nothing; the effect has to be specific to the text.

Where it sits in school

In the United States the Common Core names simile, metaphor and idiom from grade 4 (L.4.5), adds personification and hyperbole by grade 5 and 6, and allusion, irony, pun and the sound devices by grade 7 and 8; in England, similes and metaphors are Year 3 and 4, personification Year 5, and the full list is Key Stage 3 and GCSE English Language and Literature; in Australia Year 4 to 8 English; in CBSE, Class 6 to 10 literature with the device questions in the poetry sections. On every board, the question is "identify the device and explain its effect".

Practice: fifteen sentences

Name the device.

The stars danced across the sky.
He's as stubborn as a mule.
I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
The silence was deafening.
The kettle hissed and spat.
She has a heart of gold.
The pen is mightier than the sword.
We need more boots on the ground.
"What a beautiful day," she said, watching the hail.
My grandfather passed away last spring.
Sally sells seashells by the seashore.
You have to spend money to make money.
Time, you old thief, give me back my youth.
The smell of fresh bread and the crackle of its crust filled the kitchen.
The classroom was a zoo.

Answers: 1) personification. 2) simile. 3) hyperbole. 4) oxymoron. 5) onomatopoeia (and personification). 6) metaphor. 7) metonymy. 8) synecdoche. 9) verbal irony. 10) euphemism. 11) alliteration. 12) paradox. 13) apostrophe (and personification, metaphor). 14) imagery. 15) metaphor.

Download the figurative language chart (PDF)

Where to get help

A 1-on-1 online English class for grades 3 to 10, Key Stage 2 and 3 and GCSE, the Australian years and CBSE: the devices found in real poems and stories on the shared screen, the confusable pairs drilled until the test questions are automatic, then the effect sentences written and marked to the rubric. The recording and notes after every class, the same tutor every week, US$10 to $13 an hour. The English literature page has the courses; the free 30-minute first class is a real lesson, usually on the homework the child brings.

Questions parents ask

1What is figurative language?

Language that means more than, or something different from, what the words literally say, used to make writing vivid, compact or surprising. "The classroom was a zoo" is figurative: there were no animals, but the reader sees the noise and chaos at once. Literal language says exactly what it means: "the classroom was noisy and disorderly".

2What are the main types of figurative language?

The ones every course names: simile (a comparison using like or as: as brave as a lion), metaphor (a direct comparison: he is a lion), personification (a non-human thing given human qualities: the wind whispered), hyperbole (exaggeration: I've told you a million times), idiom (a set phrase with a non-literal meaning: break a leg), alliteration (repeated first sounds: sweet silent sea), onomatopoeia (words that sound like their meaning: buzz, crash), oxymoron (a contradiction in terms: deafening silence) and irony (saying the opposite of what is meant). The full chart has 22.

3What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?

A simile says one thing is like another, using like, as, than or resembles: "her voice was like honey". A metaphor says one thing is another, with no like or as: "her voice was honey". Both compare; the simile keeps the two things separate and the metaphor fuses them, which is why metaphors feel stronger.

4What is the difference between metonymy and synecdoche?

Both replace a thing with something connected to it. Synecdoche uses a part for the whole or the whole for a part: "all hands on deck" (hands for sailors), "England won the match" (the country for the team). Metonymy uses something associated but not a part: "the crown" for the monarchy, "the White House said" for the president's office, "the pen is mightier than the sword" (writing and fighting). Some courses treat synecdoche as a kind of metonymy.

5How do you write about figurative language in an essay?

Name the device and quote it, say what two things it connects or what it literally claims, then explain the effect on the reader in this text: "The metaphor 'the classroom was a zoo' compares the pupils to caged animals, which makes the teacher seem like a keeper and the lesson a losing battle." Spotting the device earns one mark; the effect earns the rest.

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written by

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Founder and lead tutor, Science with Shobha

Teaching maths, science and English to children online since 2018. 500+ students, 20+ tutors, families in nine countries.

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