accumulation: Summary of previous arguments in a forceful manner

adnomination: Repetition of a word with a change in letter or sound

alliteration: Series of words that begin with the same consonant or sound alike

anacoluthon: Change in the syntax within a sentence

anadiplosis: Repetition of a word at the end of a clause at the beginning of another

anaphora: Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses

anastrophe: Inversion of the usual word order

anticlimax: Arrangement of words in order of decreasing importance

antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, in reverse order

antistrophe: Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses (see epistrophe)

antithesis: Juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas

aphorismus: Statement that calls into question the definition of a word

aposiopesis: Breaking off or pausing speech for dramatic or emotional effect

apostrophe: Directing the attention away from the audience and to a personified abstraction

apposition: Placing of two elements side by side, in which the second defines the first

assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse

asteismus: Facetious or mocking answer that plays on a word

asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions between related clauses

cacophony: Juxtaposition of words producing a harsh sound

cataphora: Co-reference of one expression with another expression which follows it (example: If you need one, there's a towel in the top drawer.)

classification (literature & grammar): Linking a proper noun and a common noun with an article

chiasmus: Word order in one clause is inverted in the other (inverted parallelism).

climax: Arrangement of words in order of increasing importance

commoratio: Repetition of an idea, re-worded

consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse

dystmesis: A synonym for tmesis

ellipsis: Omission of words

enallage: Substitution of forms that are grammatically different, but have the same meaning

enjambment: Breaking of a syntactic unit (a phrase, clause, or sentence) by the end of a line or between two verses

enthymeme: Informal method of presenting a syllogism

epanalepsis: Repetition of the initial word or words of a clause or sentence at the end of the clause or sentence

epistrophe: Repetition of the same word or group of words at the end of successive clauses. The counterpart of anaphora (also known as antistrophe)

euphony: Opposite of cacophony - i.e. pleasant sounding

hendiadys: Use of two nouns to express an idea when the normal structure would be a noun and a modifier

hendiatris: Use of three nouns to express one idea

homographs: Words that are identical in spelling but different in origin and meaning

homonyms: Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation and spelling, but differing in origin and meaning

homophones:Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation but differing in origin and meaning

hypallage: Changing the order of words so that they are associated with words normally associated with others

hyperbaton: Schemes featuring unusual or inverted word order

hyperbole: Exaggeration of a statement

hysteron proteron: The inversion of the usual temporal or causal order between two elements

isocolon: Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive clauses

internal rhyme: Using two or more rhyming words in the same sentence

kenning: A metonymic compound where the terms together form a sort of anecdote

merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts

non sequitur: Statement that bears no relationship to the context preceding

onomatopoeia: Word that imitates a real sound (e.g. tick-tock or boom)

paradiastole: Repetition of the disjunctive pair "neither" and "nor"

parallelism: The use of similar structures in two or more clauses

paraprosdokian: Unexpected ending or truncation of a clause

parenthesis: Insertion of a clause or sentence in a place where it interrupts the natural flow of the sentence

paroemion: Resolute alliteration in which every word in a sentence or phrase begins with the same letter

parrhesia: Speaking openly or boldly, or apologizing for doing so (declaring to do so)

perissologia: The fault of wordiness

pleonasm: Use of superfluous or redundant words

polyptoton: Repetition of words derived from the same root

polysyndeton: Repetition of conjunctions

pun: When a word or phrase is used in two different senses

sibilance: Repetition of letter 's', it is a form of alliteration

sine dicendo: A statement that is so obvious it need not be stated; when uttered almost seems pointless (e.g. 'You can never save too much')

superlative: Saying something the best of something i.e. the ugliest,the most precious

spoonerism: Interchanging of (usually initial) letters of words with amusing effect

symploce: Simultaneous use of anaphora and epistrophe: the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning and the end of successive clauses

synchysis: Interlocked word order

synesis: Agreement of words according to the sense, and not the grammatical form

synizesis: Pronunciation of two juxtaposed vowels or diphthongs as a single sound

synonymia: Use of two or more synonyms in the same clause or sentence

tautology: Redundancy due to superfluous qualification; saying the same thing twice

tmesis: Division of the elements of a compound word

zeugma: The using of one verb for two actions

[edit]

Tropes

Main article: Trope (linguistics)

allegory: Extended metaphor in which a story is told to illustrate an important attribute of the subject

alliteration: Repetition of the first consonant sound in a phrase.

allusion: Indirect reference to another work of literature or art

anacoenosis: Posing a question to an audience, often with the implication that it shares a common interest with the speaker

antanaclasis: A form of pun in which a word is repeated in two different senses

anthimeria: Substitution of one part of speech for another, often turning a noun into a verb

anthropomorphism: Ascribing human characteristics to something that is not human, such as an animal or a god (see zoomorphism)

antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed grammatical order

antiphrasis: Word or words used contradictory to their usual meaning, often with irony

antonomasia: Substitution of a phrase for a proper name or vice versa

aphorism: Tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion, an adage

apophasis: Invoking an idea by denying its invocation*apostrophe: Addressing a thing, an abstraction or a person not present

archaism: Use of an obsolete, archaic, word(a word used in olden language, e.g. Shakespeare's language)

auxesis: Form of hyperbole, in which a more important sounding word is used in place of a more descriptive term

catachresis: Mixed metaphor (sometimes used by design and sometimes a rhetorical fault)

circumlocution: "Talking around" a topic by substituting or adding words, as in euphemism or periphrasis

commiseration: Evoking pity in the audience

correctio: Linguistic device used for correcting one's mistakes, a form of which is epanorthosis

denominatio: Another word for metonymy

double negative: Grammar construction that can be used as an expression and it is the repetition of negative words

dysphemism: Substitution of a harsher, more offensive, or more disagreeable term for another. Opposite of euphemism

epanorthosis: Immediate and emphatic self-correction, often following a slip of the tongue

enumeratio: A form of amplification in which a subject is divided, detailing parts, causes, effects, or consequences to make a point more forcibly

epanados: Repetition in a sentence with a reversal of words. Example: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath

erotema: Synonym for rhetorical question

euphemism: Substitution of a less offensive or more agreeable term for another

hermeneia: Repetition for the purpose of interpreting what has already been said

hyperbaton: Words that naturally belong together are separated from each other for emphasis or effect

hyperbole: Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis

hypophora: Answering one's own rhetorical question at length

hysteron proteron: Reversal of anticipated order of events; a form of hyperbaton

innuendo: Having a hidden meaning in a sentence that makes sense whether it is detected or not

invocation: Apostrophe to a god or muse

irony: Use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its usual meaning

kataphora: Repetition of a cohesive device at the end

litotes: Emphasizing the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite

malapropism: Using a word through confusion with a word that sounds similar

meiosis: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of something

merism: Statement of opposites to indicate reality

metalepsis: Referring to something through reference to another thing to which it is remotely related

metaphor: Stating one entity is another for the purpose of comparing them in quality

metonymy: Substitution of a word to suggest what is really meant

neologism: The use of a word or term that has recently been created, or has been in use for a short time. Opposite of archaism

onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meaning

oxymoron: Using two terms together, that normally contradict each other

parable: Extended metaphor told as an anecdote to illustrate or teach a moral lesson

paradox: Use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out some underlying truth

paradiastole: Extenuating a vice in order to flatter or soothe

paraprosdokian: Phrase in which the latter part causes a rethinking or reframing of the beginning

parallel irony: An ironic juxtaposition of sentences or situations (informal)

paralipsis: Drawing attention to something while pretending to pass it over

paronomasia: A form of pun, in which words similar in sound but with different meanings are used

pathetic fallacy: Using a word that refers to a human action on something non-human

periphrasis: Using several words instead of few

personification/prosopopoeia/anthropomorphism: Attributing or applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena

praeteritio: Another word for paralipsis

procatalepsis: Refuting anticipated objections as part of the main argument

prolepsis: Another word for procatalepsis

proslepsis: Extreme form of paralipsis in which the speaker provides great detail while feigning to pass over a topic

proverb: Succinct or pithy expression of what is commonly observed and believed to be true

pun: Play on words that will have two meanings

repetition: Repeated usage of word(s)/group of words in the same sentence to create a poetic/rhythmic effect

rhetorical question: Asking a question as a way of asserting something. Or asking a question not for the sake of getting an answer but for asserting something (or as in a poem for creating a poetic effect)

satire: Use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc. A literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule. A literary genre comprising such compositions

simile: Comparison between two things using like or as

snowclone: Quoted or misquoted cliché or phrasal template

superlative: Saying that something is the best of something or has the most of some quality, e.g. the ugliest, the most precious etc.

syllepsis: Form of pun, in which a single word is used to modify two other words, with which it normally would have differing meanings

syncatabasis (condescension, accommodation): adaptation of style to the level of the audience

synecdoche: Form of metonymy, in which a part stands for the whole

synesthesia: Description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.

tautology: Needless repetition of the same sense in different words Example: The children gathered in a round circle

transferred epithet: Placing of an adjective with what appears to be the incorrect noun

truism: a self-evident statement

tricolon diminuens: Combination of three elements, each decreasing in size

tricolon crescens: Combination of three elements, each increasing in size

zeugma: A figure of speech related to syllepsis, but different in that the word used as a modifier is not compatible with one of the two words it modifies

She loved him. Like I loved him.

I cannot think of a better test for life and love.

Even though I told her not to.



zoomorphism: Applying animal characteristics to humans or gods