Figurative LanguageAcademic Vocabulary

For Middle School

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WHAT IS FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE?

Figurative language is a word or phrase that departs from everyday literal language for the sake of comparison, emphasis, clarity, or freshness

WHY USE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE?

Used well, figurative language enhances your writing and can be an economical way of getting an image or a point across. However, used incorrectly, figurative language can be confusing or downright silly.

1. Hyperbole

• Extreme Exaggeration used to make a point:

– “If I have told you once, I have told you thousand times…”

– “My dog is so smart he can leap into a burning building and save a baby.”

2. Alliteration

• Reuse of beginning sounds not letters:

– “The king can’t rule with a carrot; he must use his crown.

– “Mary made muffins with her maid.”– “The pretty pony paraded through the

posy patch.”

3. Personification

• Giving human characteristics to non-human things:

– “The dog told me I needed to pay closer attention.”

– “The boulder smiled at me as it glistened in the sun.”

– “The sea was calling me to come and join it.”

4. Onomatopoeia

• Words that make their own sounds.

– “Crash went the waves on the shore.”– “Bang, bang went the gun.”– “Ruff, ruff went the dog.”

5. Simile

• A comparison using the words “like” or “as”:

– “She was as pretty as a peacock.”– “He talked like a dog barking out

orders.”– “The kitten looked like a skunk with the

stripe down his back.”

6. Metaphor

• A comparison WITHOUT using the words “like” or “as”:

– “Talk about bad moods, my dad was a bear this morning.”

– “The king is a majestic elk.”– “Music is the doctor for what ails our

soul.”

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7. Idiom

• Old sayings and cliché’s that have been way-over used but that people recognize their meanings. Their words have different meanings from the dictionary:– “It is raining cats and dogs.”– “They are a dime a dozen.”– “Two heads are better than one.”– “Blood is thicker than water.”black

8. Imagery

• Most figurative language is considered “imagery.” It is when you “paint a picture with words.” Or, the formation of mental images through words:– “Her beauty was like a dream.”– “The succulent, bubbly pizza ignited my

senses as I waited for a tasty bite.”

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Sources

Wiehardt, Ginny. "Figurative Language (definition)." About.com Fiction Writing. About.com, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

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