Figurative Language

noun something that acts as a strong support or protection

• The stone bulwark protected the city from enemy attacks.
• The big wall acted as a bulwark against invaders.
• The fence was their bulwark against nosy neighbors.
• Education is often seen as a bulwark against poverty.

noun a favorable and especially unduly high opinion of one's own abilities or worth

• His conceit was evident in the way he spoke about his accomplishments.
• She's full of conceit, always bragging about herself.
• Don't be so conceited, no one likes a show-off.
• The conceit of the novel lies in its unreliable narrator.

noun a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect, as in 'I could sleep for a year'

• The author's use of hyperbole in his writing emphasizes the extreme nature of the character's emotions.
• She always uses hyperbole when describing how busy she is, like saying she has a million things to do.
• He's always exaggerating with hyperbole, like saying he's so hungry he could eat a horse.
• Her love for him was so strong, it was like a hyperbole that couldn't be contained.

noun a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

• The author's use of metaphor throughout the novel added depth to the characters and themes.
• I like how the singer uses metaphor to describe love in his songs.
• That movie was so bad, it was a metaphor for my life.
• Her smile was a metaphor for sunshine on a cloudy day.

adjective relating to or using metaphor; figurative

• The author used a metaphorical language in his novel to convey deeper meanings.
• She described her feelings using a metaphorical comparison to a rollercoaster.
• I didn't get his metaphorical joke about the chicken crossing the road.
• The painting was a metaphorical representation of the artist's inner struggles.

noun a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

• The term 'jumbo shrimp' is often considered an oxymoron in linguistics.
• My sister said she's going on a 'working vacation' which sounds like an oxymoron to me.
• I think 'act natural' is kind of an oxymoron, don't you?
• The phrase 'bittersweet ending' is an oxymoron that perfectly captures the complexity of the situation.

noun a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid

• The poet used a simile to compare the sunset to a golden coin.
• She explained the concept using a simile about baking a cake.
• I heard this great simile about love being like a rollercoaster.
• His words were like a sharp sword, cutting through the silence with a simile.

noun the study and interpretation of texts in regard to their linguistic and tonal style

• The study of stylistics focuses on analyzing the linguistic choices made by writers to convey meaning and style.
• Studying stylistics helps you understand how authors use language to create different effects in their writing.
• Stylistics is all about how writers put words together to make their writing cool and interesting.
• Exploring stylistics is like uncovering the hidden artistry behind the words on a page.