(or figurative language) is another term used for imagery and generally refers to such devices as metaphor, simile and personification.
A figure of speech is a form of speech in which words are used out of their usual meaning to form a picture in the mind. The figures of speech are the simile (comparison), metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy, personification, hyperbole . . .
language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense
a comparison - - like similes, metaphors, or personification
a deigned and legitimate departure from the laws of language, in order to emphasize what is said
an expression in which words are used to create a forceful image
an instance of figurative language
a word or phrase that is used to convey something beyond its ordinary meaning
a word, phrase, or sentence that implies an idea or comparison that goes beyond what we would normally expect from the literal meanings of the words themselves
Literary device used to create a special effect or feeling, often by making some type of comparison. See Hyperbole, Metaphor, Simile, Understatement
Applied to words, a figure denotes some form which a word or sentence takes, different from its ordinary and natural form. This is always for the purpose of giving additional force, more life, intensified feeling, and greater emphasis.†–E.W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech used in the Bible, pg. v Example: Anadiplosis (i.e. like sentence beginnings) Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void.
Any expressive use of language, as a metaphor, simile, personification, or antithesis, in which words are used in other than their literal sense, or in other than their ordinary locutions, in order to suggest a picture or image or for other special effect.
A term applied to a specific kind of figurative language, such as a metaphor or simile. Everyday language abounds with many different figures of speech, in which we say one thing and mean another.
expressive use language in non-literal form to produce striking effect
A verbal expression in which words or sounds are arranged in a particular way to achieve a particular effect. Figures of speech are organized into different categories, such as alliteration, assonance, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, simile, and synecdoche.
An expressive use of language, such as a metaphor or pun, used to suggest an image or comparison. In a figure of speech, words are not used literally.
A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetorical, or elocution, is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language. Figures of speech are often used and crafted for emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use.
