Figurative Language Term Review
You are expected to know these terms prior to seventh grade. Please make a set of flashcards for these
terms and begin to review them; you will be tested on them. In 7th grade, we will analyze the author’s
use of these terms and use them in writing..
1. figurative language: writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally, but it has an intended
meaning behind it. Figurative language is used to state ideas in vivid and imaginative ways.
2. connotation : the feelings associated with a word; they can be negative or positive.
Example: The word “gloomy” has a negative feeling.
3. denotation: a word’s actual meaning or definition
Example: Gloomy: murky and dark
4. simile: an indirect comparison that equates two unlike “things” (like or as)
Example: She was as mean as an irritated rattlesnake.
5. metaphor: a direct comparison that equates two unlike “things” ( indicates that one thing is
another)
Example: Life is a journey.
6. extended metaphor: carries the direct comparison throughout and entire work or section of work
7. personification: when inanimate (lifeless) objects are given human qualities or abilities
Example: The garbage disposal growled and choked on our left over food.
8. idiom: an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that
has a separate meaning of its own
Example: It’s raining cats and dogs.
9. hyperbole: an over exaggeration that should not be taken literally.
Example: Casey has million rubber bands around his research cards!
10. sensory imagery: words or phrases that appeal to the senses and conjure up mental images;
appears extensively in setting and character description and nature poetry
11. onomatopoeia (sound device): use of words to imitate a sound.
Example: Bang! Zip! Boom!
12. alliteration (sound device) the repetition of the same consonant sound.
Example: Angie ate eight apples after school.
13. stanza: a division in poetry; lines that are grouped together in a poem; often look like paragraphs
Possible New Terms
14. clichés : overused expression: a phrase or word that has lost its original effectiveness or power
from overuse.
Example: She is as pretty as a red rose.
15. anthropomorphism: human characteristics or traits given to animals; when animals are
portrayed as humans
Example: The bear danced and sang to the music.
Test: You must be able to define, identify, and analyze these term in literature; you will also
be required to create and use figurative language in your own writing.