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Figurative language is when you use a word or phrase that does not have its normal everyday, literal meaning.
Writers can use figurative language to make their work more interesting or more dramatic than literal
language which simply states facts.

There are a few different ways to use figurative language, including metaphors, similes, personification and
hyperbole. See the table below for some figurative language examples and definitions.

Term Definition Example

The repetition of usually initial consonant sounds The wild and woolly walrus waits
Alliteration
in two or more neighboring words or syllables and wonders when we’ll walk by

holy & stony

Assonance A resemblance of sound in words or syllables and

Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese

A word or phrase that has become overly familiar
Cliche No pain, no gain
or commonplace

Hyperbole Big exaggeration, usually with humor mile-high ice-cream cones

Idiom The language peculiar to a group of people She sings at the top of her lungs

Comparing two things by using one kind of object
Metaphor or using in place of another to suggest the likeness Her hair was silk
between them

Naming a thing or an action by imitating the
buzz, hiss, roar, woof
sound associated with it
Onomatopoeia

The stuffed bear smiled as the little
Giving something human qualities
boy hugged him close
Personification

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things The sun is like a yellow ball of fire in
Simile
that is often introduced by like or as the sky