Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
TYPE & DEFINITION
Idiom-Word or phrase that has a figurative meaning
and does not make sense (and is often silly) when
taken literally. Idioms are specific to a particular
culture and usually do not directly translate into
other languages.
Simile- A sentence or phrase that compares two
unlike things using “like” or “as.”
The two objects compared may seem very different
in real life, but the simile shows how they are
similar.
Metaphor- A sentence or phrase that compares
two unlike things without using “like” or “as.”
A metaphor states that one thing is another thing.
The two objects compared may seem very different
in real life.
Onomatopoeia- A word that imitates (sounds like)
the sound it represents.
EXAMPLE
Personification- Language in which an animal or
object is described using human characteristics.
Alliteration- The repetition of the same sound
throughout a poem or piece of literature (usually
within the same line). Includes tongue twisters.
Hyperbole- An exaggeration that is so dramatic that
no one would believe the statement is true.
Oxymoron- A phrase that combines a pair of words
with opposite meanings to emphasize a point.
Allusion- a reference in a literary work to a person,
place, or thing in history or another work of
literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief
references to well-known characters or events.
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
Simile: It was too much for him, and he took
off down the street, squalling like a scalded
cat/ (2)
Simile: The pads were worn down slick as the
rind on an apple. (3)
Simile: One was large, with long, upright
handles that stood out like wings on a morning
dove. (6)
Simile: The other was smaller and made of
silver. It was neat and trim, and sparkled like a
white star in the heavens. (6)
Simile: I saw the hurt in his eyes. It made me
feel like someone was squeezing water out of
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
my heart. (9)
Simile: His tail was as big as a wet corncob. (11)
Simile: He swelled up like a sitting hen. (13)
Simile: I had lost weight and was as thin as a
bean pole. (15)
Simile: All through the summer, I worked like a
beaver. (20)
Metaphor: His skin was stretched drum-tight
over his bony frame. (3)
Simile: I felt as big as the tallest mountains in
the Ozarks. (21)
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
Metaphor: I suppose there’s a time in
practically every young boy’s life when he’s
infected by that wonderful disease of puppy
love. (7)
Metaphor: I was a hunter from the time I could
walk. (9)
Metaphor: But on that day, I found the
greatest of treasures, an old sportsman’s
magazine. (18)
Metaphor: The plate glass was a perfect
mirror. (29)
Metaphor: The spider-web pattern of raw-red
scratches looked odd in the saddle-brown skin.
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
(29)
Idiom: I caught my breath. (2)
Idiom: To pen up a dog like that is a sin. It
would have broken his heart. (4)
Idiom: There was a story in those cups. (6)
Idiom: Piece by piece the story unfolded. (6)
Idiom: It was the same old story. (9)
Idiom: I went to bed with my heart all torn up
in little pieces, and I cried myself to sleep. (10)
Idiom: I jumped up and down, and cried a
whole bucketful of tears. (11)
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
Idiom: I heard him laughing fit to kill. (12)
Onomatopoeia: Out of the snarling, growling,
slashing mass reared an old redbone hound.
(2)
Onomatopoeia: As I sat there in the silence,
the fire grew larger. It crackled and popped.
(6)
Onomatopoeia: He spit and yowled and dared
anyone to get close to him. (11)
Onomatopoeia: Mama shushed them up. (11)
Onomatopoeia: The chickens started cackling.
(11)
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
Onomatopoeia: Sloppy Ann, our hog, started
running in circles, squealing and grunting. (11)
Onomatopoeia: Now and then I could hear the
hunter whooping to him. (14)
Onomatopoeia: I heard the old Maxwell car as
it snorted and chugged its way out of the
bottoms. (17)
Personification: It’s strange indeed how
memories can lie dormant in a man’s mind for
so many years. Yet those memories can be
awakened and brought forth fresh and new,
just by something you’ve seen, or something
you’ve heard, or the sight of an old familiar
face. (3)
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
Personification: A cool breeze drifted down
from the rugged Tetons. It had a bite in it, and
goosepimples jumped out on my skin. (5)
Personification: Firelight shadows began to
shimmer and dance around the room. (6)
Personification: His voice seemed to bore its
way through the pillow and ring in my ears.
(15)
Personification: I heard the old Maxwell car as
it snorted and chugged its way out of the
bottoms. (17)
Personification: Feeling the pangs of hunger
gnawing at my stomach, I decided I would stop
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
and eat at the next stream I found. (28)
Alliteration: Hearing loud laughter, I looked
around. (33)
Alliteration: But it made my blood boil. (102)
Alliteration: One large long limb ran out and
hung directly over the gate. (140)
Alliteration: I knew the killing of the coon was
out of my control. (143)
Hyperbole: Everything was too perfect for
anything unusual to happen. (1)
Hyperbole: One of those rare days when
everything is right and nothing is wrong. (1)
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
Hyperbole: He sat down on his rear and let the
whole world know he’d been hurt. (2)
Hyperbole: I was ten years old when I first
became infected with this terrible disease. I’m
sure no boy in the world had it worse than I
did. (7)
Hyperbole: Besides, a hunter needed a gun,
and that was one thing I couldn’t have, not
until I was twenty-one anyway. (8)
Hyperbole: There I was sitting right in the
middle of the finest hunting country in the
world, and I didn’t even have a dog. (8)
Hyperbole: I reached back in Arkansas
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
somewhere. By the time my fist had traveled
all the way down to the Cherokee Strip, it had
a lot of power behind it. (40)
Oxymoron: Affected by that wonderful disease
of puppy love. (7)
Oxymoron: What I saw in the warm gray eyes
of the friendly old hound brought back
wonderful memories. (3)
Oxymoron: This one looked absolutely
impossible. (55)
Allusion: I tried to make myself believe that his
home was in the Ozark Mountains somewhere
in Missouri, or Oklahoma. It wasn’t impossible,
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
even though it was a long way from the Snake
River Valley in Idaho. (4)
Allusion: Memories of my boyhood days, an
old K.C. Baking Powder can, and two little red
hounds. (5)
Allusion: The land we lived on was Cherokee
land, allotted to my mother because of the
Cherokee blood that flowed in her veins. (8)
Allusion: I was a young Daniel Boone. (9)
Allusion: He told me how hard times were, and
that it looked like a man couldn’t get a fair
price for anything he raised. Some of the
farmers had quit farming and were cutting
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.
Name____________________________________________Date:__________________________
railroad ties so they could feed their families.
(10)
Allusion: If Santa Clause had come down out of
the mountains, reindeer and all, I would not
have been more pleased. (11)
Allusion: I heard the old Maxwell car as it
snorted and chugged its way out of the
bottoms. (17)
Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.
Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.