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Literal language is the usage of words exactly according to their direct, straightforward, or conventionally accepted meanings: their denotation. Figurative (or non-literal) language is the usage of words in a way that deviates from their conventionally accepted definitions in order to convey a more complex meaning or a heightened effect. [1]
A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, etc.). [1] [2] In the distinction between literal and figurative language, figures of
The first known use of the word literally was in the 15th century, [1] or the 1530s, [2] when it was used in the sense of "in a literal sense or manner". [1]The use of the word as an intensifier for figurative statements emerged later, in 1769, [3] [4] when Frances Brooke wrote the following sentence: [3]
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).
A special case of semantic syllepsis occurs when a word or phrase is used both in its figurative and literal sense at the same time. [3] Then, it is not necessary for the governing phrase to relate to two parts of the sentence. One example is in an advertisement for a transport company: "We go a long way for you."
Hyperbole (/ h aɪ ˈ p ɜːr b əl i / ⓘ; adj. hyperbolic / ˌ h aɪ p ər ˈ b ɒ l ɪ k / ⓘ) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech.In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth').
The easiest stylistic device to identify is a simile, signaled by the use of the words "like" or "as".A simile is a comparison used to attract the reader's attention and describe something in descriptive terms.
Also apophthegm. A terse, pithy saying, akin to a proverb, maxim, or aphorism. aposiopesis A rhetorical device in which speech is broken off abruptly and the sentence is left unfinished. apostrophe A figure of speech in which a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience (e.g., in a play) and directs speech to a third party such as an opposing litigant or some other individual, sometimes ...