What are the top 20 figures of speech with their definition and examples?

Answer 1

Here are 20 common figures of speech:

1. Simile: A comparison using "like" or "as" (e.g., "as brave as a lion").
2. Metaphor: A direct comparison without "like" or "as" (e.g., "Time is a thief").
3. Alliteration: Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words (e.g., "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers").
4. Hyperbole: An exaggerated statement (e.g., "I've told you a million times").
5. Personification: Giving human traits to non-human things (e.g., "The wind whispered through the trees").
6. Oxymoron: A combination of contradictory terms (e.g., "deafening silence").
7. Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate sounds (e.g., "buzz," "clang").
8. Irony: A contrast between expectation and reality (e.g., a fire station burns down).
9. Metonymy: Substituting the name of one thing with that of something closely associated (e.g., "the White House announced").
10. Synecdoche: A part representing the whole (e.g., "all hands on deck").
11. Euphemism: A mild expression substituted for one considered harsh (e.g., "passed away" for "died").
12. Antithesis: Contrasting ideas placed in parallel (e.g., "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times").
13. Chiasmus: A reversal of structure in two phrases (e.g., "Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You").
14. Pun: A play on words (e.g., "Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana").
15. Climax: A progression of ideas that leads to a peak (e.g., "I came, I saw, I conquered").
16. Anaphora: Repetition of a word at the beginning of successive clauses (e.g., "I Have a Dream...").
17. Apostrophe: Addressing an absent or imaginary person (e.g., "O Death, where is thy sting?").
18. Rhetorical Question: A question posed for effect, not requiring an answer (e.g., "Is the sky blue?").
19. Paradox: A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a truth (e.g., "Less is more").
20. Litotes: A form of understatement using double negatives (e.g., "not bad" meaning "good").

These figures of speech enhance language by adding depth, emotion, and imagery.