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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 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
An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a figurative or non-literal meaning, rather than making any literal sense.Categorized as formulaic language, an idiomatic expression's meaning is different from the literal meanings of each word inside it. [1]
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] It is often created by presenting words in such a way that they are equated, compared, or associated with normally unrelated meanings.
The following is a list of common metonyms. [n 1] A metonym is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept.
Figuratively, it refers to a state of dazedness or confusion resulting from fatigue, overwork, burnout, continuous exposure to unpleasant situations, or perhaps even emotional upheaval, as in suffering repeated figurative blows to one's ego, emotional well-being, etc. OED dates the boxing usage to 1918, the figurative to 1934. [60]
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]
A thesaurus (pl.: thesauri or thesauruses), sometimes called a synonym dictionary or dictionary of synonyms, is a reference work which arranges words by their meanings (or in simpler terms, a book where one can find different words with similar meanings to other words), [1] [2] sometimes as a hierarchy of broader and narrower terms, sometimes simply as lists of synonyms and antonyms.