Terms : Hide Images
| 3624882722 | Diction | Author's choice of words that creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning | 0 | |
| 3624890454 | Syntax | The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. | 1 | |
| 3624894754 | Tone | the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc. | 2 | |
| 3624901296 | Imagery | visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work. | 3 | |
| 3624902652 | Figurative Language | using figures of speech to be more effective, persuasive and impactful. ex. metaphors, similes, allusions go beyond the literal meanings of the words to give the readers new insights. | 4 | |
| 3624908171 | Point of View | the narrator's position in relation to the story being told. | 5 | |
| 3624909897 | Detail | an individual feature, fact, or item. | 6 | |
| 3624922837 | Pacing | move or develop (something) at a particular rate or speed. | 7 | |
| 3624925764 | Shift | the change you hear occurs in a speaker's or writer's style or tone and is often accompanied by a shift in focus. | 8 | |
| 3624931255 | Connotation | an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. | 9 | |
| 3624940802 | Denotation | the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests. | 10 | |
| 3624947022 | Theme | the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic. | 11 | |
| 3629507050 | Abstract | a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. | 12 | |
| 3629508402 | Ad hominum | means "against the man". As the name suggests, it is a literary term that involves commenting on or against an opponent to undermine him instead of his arguments. A lawyer attacking a defendant's character rather than addressing or questioning based on the case, e.g., in a case of theft pointing out the defendant's level of poverty. | 13 | |
| 3629509558 | Allegory | literary devices or as rhetorical devices that convey hidden meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, and/or events, which together create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning the author wishes to convey. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is a religious allegory with Aslan as Christ and Edmund as Judas. | 14 | |
| 3629510884 | Allusion | a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. "He was a real Romeo with the ladies." Romeo was a character in Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic in expressing his love for Juliet. | 15 | |
| 3629512295 | Alliteration | a stylistic literary device identified by the repeated sound of the first consonant in a series of multiple words, or the repetition of the same sounds of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables of a phrase. Hot-hearted Beowulf was bent upon battle - from Beowulf. This example of Medieval Anglo-Saxon poetry contains alliteration using Beowulf, bent and battle. | 16 | |
| 3629516794 | Apostrophe | figure of speech sometimes represented by exclamation "O". A writer or a speaker, using an apostrophe, detaches himself from the reality and addresses an imaginary character in his speech. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky." | 17 | |
| 3629518078 | Aphorism | a statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner. All that glitters is not gold. | 18 | |
| 3629522275 | Analogy | a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar. You are as annoying as nails on a chalkboard. You must be pretty annoying for someone to say that. | 19 | |
| 3629523491 | Anaphora | the Greek term used to describe the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences And needy nothing trimm'd in jollity, And purest faith unhappily forsworn, And gilded honour shamefully misplac'd, And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted, And right perfection wrongfully disgrac'd, | 20 | |
| 3629524347 | Anastrophe | a literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter. 'Powerful you have become; the dark side I sense in you.' | 21 | |
| 3629524785 | Anecdote | a short and interesting story or an amusing event often proposed to support or demonstrate some point and make readers and listeners laugh At the beginning of a speech about fire safety, the speaker tells a short cautionary tale about a serious injury that occurred as a result of not following protocol. | 22 | |
| 3629530334 | Antithesis | a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect. Snow White and the Wicked Witch in Snow White | 23 | |
| 3629531365 | Aphorism | a statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner. The term is often applied to philosophical, moral and literary principles. All that glitters is not gold. | 24 | |
| 3629532972 | Argument | a brief summary, often in prose, of a poem or section of a poem or other work. It is often appended to the beginning of each chapter, book, or canto. Stating that one's age precludes him from being able to make an intelligent or meaningful argument, such as, "You are clearly just too young to understand." | 25 | |
| 3629533597 | Asyndeton | a stylistic device used in literature and poetry to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between the phrases and in the sentence, yet maintain the grammatical accuracy. Why, they've got ten volumes on suicide alone. Suicide by race, by color, by occupation, by sex, by seasons of the year, by time of day. Suicide, how committed: by poisons, by firearms, by drowning, by leaps. Suicide by poison, subdivided by types of poison, such as corrosive, irritant, systemic, gaseous, narcotic, alkaloid, protein, and so forth. - Double Indemnity | 26 | |
| 3629534324 | Cacophony | the term refers to the use of words with sharp, harsh, hissing and unmelodious sounds primarily those of consonants to achieve desired results. "And being no stranger to the art of war, I have him a description of cannons, culverins, muskets, carabines, pistols, bullets, powder, swords, bayonets, battles, sieges, retreats, attacks, undermines, countermines, bombardments, sea-fights..." | 27 | |
| 3629535351 | Chiasmus | used to describe two successive clauses or sentences where the key words or phrases are repeated in both clauses, but in reverse order. Do I love you because you're beautiful? Or are you beautiful because I love you? - Oscar Hammerstein | 28 | |
| 3629537150 | Colloquililsm | the use of informal words, phrases or even slang in a piece of writing. a bunch of numpties - a group of idiots | 29 | |
| 3653298949 | Conceit | an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem. "Oh stay! three lives in one flea spare Where we almost, yea more than married are. This flea is you and I, and this Our marriage-bed and marriage-temple is" | 30 | |
| 3653308448 | Concession | a literary device used in argumentative writing where one acknowledges a point made by one's opponent. "Dad, I know taking a trip to another country with my friends may be expensive and unsafe, but I have studied so hard the past year and I think I deserve a vacation. You already know how responsible I have been all my life; I don't think there will be any problem." | 31 | |
| 3653313061 | Concrete | objects or events that are available to the senses Furniture | 32 | |
| 3653321858 | Cumulative sentence (loose sentence) | begins with a main clause that is followed by phrases and/or clauses that modify the main clause. These phrases or clauses add information to the main or independent clause. I went to the movies yesterday, bought candy, and shopped at the mall. | 33 | |
| 3653328177 | Didactic | have morals to impart or are written to teach us something about religion, philosophy, history, or politics. Aesop's Fables | 34 | |
| 3653342106 | Digression | a section of a composition or speech that marks a temporary shift of subject; | 35 | |
| 3653351516 | Ellipsis | a literary device that is used in narratives to omit some parts of a sentence or event, which gives the reader a chance to fill the gaps while acting or reading it out. So...what happened? | 36 | |
| 3653362505 | Epiphany | that moment in the story where a character achieves realization, awareness or a feeling of knowledge after which events are seen through the prism of this new light in the story. "I used to smoke a lot. Everyone let me know that it was bad for my health however, I didn't pay any notice. One day I saw my two years of age offspring trying for a used cigarette within an ashtray. Seeing this, abruptly it dawned upon me how terrible smoking was and I stopped smoking." | 37 | |
| 3653368168 | Ethos | an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader. "Our expertise in roofing contracting is evidenced not only by our 100 years in the business and our staff of qualified technicians, but in the decades of satisfied customers who have come to expect nothing but the best." | 38 | |
| 3653371557 | Euphemism | refers to polite, indirect expressions which replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite or which suggest something unpleasant. "passed away" instead of "died" | 39 | |
| 3653377941 | Euphony | derived from the Greek word "euphonos" that means sweet-voiced. It can be defined as the use of words and phrases that are distinguished as having a wide range of noteworthy melody or loveliness in the sounds they create. Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch -eves run; To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, | 40 | |
| 3653386686 | Fallacies | an erroneous argument dependent upon an unsound or illogical contention. "You can't demonstrate that there aren't Martians living in caves on the surface of Mars, so it is sensible for me to accept there are." | 41 | |
| 3653390014 | Genre | a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even (as in the case of fiction) length. fiction, non-fiction | 42 | |
| 3653394680 | Homily | literally "sermon", or any serious talk, speech, or lecture providing moral or spiritual advice. hyperbole - a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Roman Catholic priest speech | 43 | |
| 3653399325 | Hyperbole | exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. She's as heavy as an elephant | 44 | |
| 3653410625 | Invective | denotes speech or writing that attacks, insults, or denounces a person, topic, or institution. It involves the use of abusive and negative use of language. "I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth." | 45 | |
| 3653414739 | Inversion | a literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter. Crying and shaking, she sits | 46 | |
| 3653419680 | Irony | a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. It may also be a situation that may end up in quite a different way than what is generally anticipated. I posted a video on YouTube about how boring and useless YouTube is. | 47 | |
| 3653422670 | Litotes | a figure of speech which employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions. They do not seem the happiest couple around. | 48 | |
| 3653427151 | Logos | a statement, sentence or argument used to convince or persuade the targeted audience by employing reason or logic. | 49 | |
| 3667831144 | Metaphor | a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. I had fallen through a trapdoor of depression | 50 | |
| 3667852328 | Metonymy | a scary word for a not-so-scary concept England decides to keep check on immigration. (England refers to the government.) | 51 | |
| 3667855602 | Motif | any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story "A Tale of Two Cities", the main plot revolves around a few basic themes: the ever-present possibility of resurrection and the necessity of sacrifice to bring about a revolution. | 52 | |
| 3667863136 | Non sequitur | a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement. Marilyn drives a Mercedes. Marilyn must be wealthy. | 53 | |
| 3667880445 | Onomatopeia | the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named cuckoo, sizzle | 54 | |
| 3667888707 | Parallelism | the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter "To err is human; to forgive divine." | 55 | |
| 3667898166 | Parody | a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule "The Daily Show", "The Colbert Report" | 56 | |
| 3667907378 | Paradox | a statement that contradicts itself and still seems true somehow "Nobody goes to the restaurant because it's too crowded." "This sentence is false." | 57 | |
| 3667910918 | Pathos | a quality of an experience in life or a work of art that stirs up emotions of pity, sympathy and sorrow If we do not leave this place soon, we will end up yelling for help. We do not see anyone to help us here. So, leave this place and live" | 58 | |
| 3667915021 | Pedantic | an adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or. bookish. periodic sentences - a sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end. "The Big Bang Theory" contains a pedantic character, Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper, who is a theoretical physicist. Dr. Sheldon Cooper is idiosyncratic, obsessed, have extreme narcissism and extensive general knowledge. Other characteristics in his personality include inflated ego, prodigy, social ineptitude and his inability to express emotions to people, which show him as a typical pedantic person. | 59 | |
| 3667925235 | Periodic Sentence | a stylistic device employed at the sentence level, described as one that is not complete grammatically or semantically before the final clause or phrase. In spite of heavy snow and cold temperatures, the game continued. | 60 | |
| 3667938138 | Personification | the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. my tummy grumbled | 61 | |
| 3667948264 | Persuasion | the action or fact of persuading someone or of being persuaded to do or believe something. "Monica needed plenty of persuasion before she actually left" | 62 | |
| 3667956560 | Polysndeton | a stylistic device in which several coordinating conjunctions are used in succession in order to achieve an artistic effect. "Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets, and books, and mostly-mostly-let them have their whiteness. | 63 | |
| 3667967884 | Repetition | the action of repeating something that has already been said or written. "and ... and... and... and" | 64 | |
| 3667984094 | Sarcasm | the use of irony to mock or convey contempt. "Is your car stuck in the mud?" "No, no, of course not. I'm only practicing how to spray mud using my tires." | 65 | |
| 3667997730 | Satire | the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. "What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and isn't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?" | 66 | |
| 3668000636 | Simile | a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things ("like" or "as") as loud as a lion | 67 | |
| 3668007726 | Syllepsis | a figure of speech in which a word is applied to two others in different senses caught the train and a bad cold | 68 | |
| 3668013096 | Syllogism | a deductive scheme of a formal argument consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion "every virtue is laudable; kindness is a virtue; therefore kindness is laudable | 69 | |
| 3668014820 | Symbol | a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract. "the limousine was another symbol of his wealth and authority" | 70 | |
| 3668026305 | Synecdoche | a literary device in which a part of something represents the whole or it may use a whole to represent a part. The word "bread" refers to food or money as in "Writing is my bread and butter" or "sole breadwinner". | 71 | |
| 3668029624 | Style | the literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words — the author's word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work together to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text. | 72 | |
| 3668032275 | Tautology | the saying of the same thing twice in different words, generally considered to be a fault of style they arrived one after the other in succession | 73 | |
| 3668039953 | Understatement | the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is. "a master of English understatement" | 74 | |
| 3733748990 | Oxyomoron | occurs when two contradictory words are together in one phrase. seriously funny | 75 |
