20 ordinary figures of speech with examples and effects
1. Alliteration - the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words (e.g. She sells
seashells by the seashore).
2. Metaphor - a comparison between two things without using like or as (e.g. Life is a journey).
3. Simile - a comparison between two things using like or as (e.g. She was as fast as a cheetah).
4. Hyperbole - an exaggeration for emphasis (e.g. I've told you a million times!).
5. Personification - giving human qualities to non-human things (e.g. The wind whispered in my
ear).
6. Onomatopoeia - using words that imitate sounds (e.g. Buzz, hiss, slurp). 7. Oxymoron - two
contradictory words used together for effect (e.g. Jumbo shrimp).
8. Irony - a statement that means the opposite of what it seems (e.g. The fire station burned
down).
9. Pun - a play on words with two meanings (e.g. When a clock is hungry, it goes back four
seconds).
10. Antithesis - contrasting ideas expressed in a balanced sentence (e.g. To err is human; to
forgive, divine).
11. Parallelism - using a series of similar phrases or clauses for effect (e.g. It was the best of
times, it was the worst of times).
12. Chiasmus - repeating a phrase in reverse order (e.g. Ask not what your country can do for
you; ask what you can do for your country).
13. Ellipsis - leaving out words for effect (e.g. The more, the merrier).
14. Anaphora - repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases (e.g. I have a
dream...).
15. Epistrophe - repeating a word or phrase at the end of successive phrases (e.g. When I was a
child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child).
16. Metonymy - using a word to refer to something related to it (e.g. The pen is mightier than the
sword).
17. Synecdoche - using a part to represent the whole (e.g. All hands on deck).
18. Litotes - using a negative to express a positive (e.g. That's not bad).
19. Rhetorical question - a question that doesn't require an answer (e.g. Can't we all just get
along?).
20. Apostrophe - addressing an absent or imaginary person or thing (e.g. O Captain! My
Captain!).