Figures of Speech Chart

Figure	English Name	Category	Definition	Emphasis	Notes	DB Code
Aetiologia	Cause Shown	Rhetoric	When speaker renders a reason for what he thinks, says or does.	Cause	Introduced by therefore or because	AETI
Allegory	Allegory	Illustration	Continued comparison by representation or implication.	Points of comparison — ending or beginning sentence is the conclusion	Allegory is a broader term in Semitic languages, rather what we would call an “illustration” or “incident.”	ALEG
Amoebaeon	Refrain	Repetition	Repetition of the same phrase at the end of successive paragraphs.	Repeated words	Also under Repetition in DB	AMOE
Anabasis	Gradual Ascent	Rhetoric	An increase of sense in successive sentences.	The logic of the sentences	The concluding sentence is important	ANBS
Anacoluthon	Non-Sequence	Rhetoric	A breaking off the sequence of thought.	The new pronoun	Beginning of the change of pronoun is important to note	ANCL
Anadiplosis	Like Endings & Beginnings	Repetition	Repetition of the same word or words at the end of one sentence or clause and at the beginning of another.	The repeated words	Also under Repetition in DB	ANDP
Anaphora	Like-Beginnings	Repetition	The repetition of the same word at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences	The repeated word	Also under Repetition in DB	ANAP
Antanaclasis	Word-Clashing	Repetition	Repetition of the same word in the same sentence, with different meanings.	1st meaning used is more important	Homonym – same word has more than one usage	ANTC
Anthropopatheia	Condescension	Meaning	The ascribing of human attributes to God.	The action or picture described	Hebrew name is Derech Benai Adam, “the way of the sons of man.” This figure shows God’s diversity	ANTH
Antimeria	Exchange of Parts of Speech	Meaning	The exchange of a noun for an adjective or adverb.	The changed word	The second noun is the adjective	ANTM
Antiptosis	Exchange of Cases	Meaning	One case is put for another case, the governing noun being used as the adjective instead of the noun in regimen.	The changed word	The first noun is the adjective	ANTP
Antithesis	Contrast	Rhetoric	A setting of one phrase in contrast with another.	The contrasting phrase	Parallel structure	ANTI
Antonomasia	Name Change	Meaning	Change of proper name for appellative or vice versa	What description means	Description takes place of the literal name, used often of names for Jesus Christ	ANTN
Apostrophe	Aside	Rhetoric	A turning aside from the direct subject matter to address others	Points to specific group	The group addressed needs to take special note	APOS
Asterismos	Indicating	Grammar	Employing some word which directs special attention to some particular point of subject.	Calls attention to what follows	Examples include the phrase, “truly I say to you.”	ASTR
Asyndeton	No-Ands	Grammar	An enumeration of things without conjunctions.	The whole unit	It is important to view the group as a whole unit and there may be climactic emphasis on last item in list	ASYN
Benedictio	Blessing	Rhetoric	An expression of feeling by way of Benediction or blessing.	The act of blessing and the blessing itself	The phrase may end with “Amen.”	BEND
Catabasis	Gradual Descent	Rhetoric	A decrease of sense in successive sentences.	The logic of the sentences	Opposite of anabasis	CATB
Catachresis	Incongruity	Meaning	One word changed for another only remotely connected with it.	Correct meaning.	Look for the connection	CATC
Chiasmos	Introverted Correspondence	Rhetoric	An inverted relationship between the syntactic elements of parallel phrases	The central phrase	The middle phrase turns the point and is emphatic	CHIA
Climax	Gradation	Repetition	Continuous anadiplosis – repetition of endings and beginnings of one sentence or clause.	The build up of logic	Each concept repeated is important to note and consider	CLIX
Eironeia	Irony	Meaning	The expression of thought in a form that naturally conveys the opposite	The opposite meaning	Can be sarcastic, but more often is only obviously the opposite. See also antiphrasis	EIRO
Ellipsis	Omission	Rhetoric	Words omitted from a sentence or phrase that are necessary to complete the grammar, but not the sense	The omitted word or concept	There are many kinds of ellipsis	ELPS
Epanadiplosis	Encircling	Repetition	Repetition of the same word or words at the beginning and end of a sentence.	Repeated word(s)	Consider the sentences in between as a unit of thought	EPAD
Epanados	Inversion	Repetition	Repetition of different words in a sentence, in an inverse order (but same sense)	Repeated words	Contributes to understanding of the structure of a passage	EPND
Epanorthosis	Correction	Repetition	Recalling of ivhat has been said, in order to correct it as by an afterthought	The correction	Look for the stronger statement	EPOR
Epizeuxis	Duplication	Repetition	Repetition of the same word in immediate sucession.	Repeated word	Effect is to establish the word duplicated, very solemn meaning, often used in addressing people	EPZX
Erotesis	Interrogative	Rhetoric	The asking of questions without waiting for the answer.	Answer	The meaning must be gleaned by putting the question into a statement; there are various kinds	EROT
Euphemismos	Ephemism	Meaning	Change of what is unpleasant for pleasant	The reality of what is meant	Emphasis is on the unpleasant concept	EUPH
Hendiadys	Two for One	Meaning	Two words used, but one thing meant.	The combination of concepts	The one thing meant is greater than the individual meanings of the two words	HDYS
Hendiatris	Three for One	Meaning	Three words used, one thing meant	The combination of concepts	The one thing meant is greater than the individual meanings of the three words	HDTR
Hypallage	Interchange	Meaning	An interchange of construction whereby a word is grammatically united with another	The noun in regimen	In a genitive phrase the first noun is interchanged as an adjective	HYPA
Hyperbole	Exaggeration	Meaning	When more is said than is literally meant.	The literal meaning	More is said in order to heighten the sense	HYPB
Hypocatastasis	Implication	Illustration	A declaration that implies the resemblance or representation, comparison by implication	What is compared	There is an implication of similar qualities. Can be a verb or noun. In modern grammar it is called a metaphor	HYPO
Interjectio	Interjection	Interjection	A parenthetic addition complete in itself, thrown in between, an exclamation	What follows the exclamation	This is a broad figure, covering many kinds of interjections and exclamations	INTJ
Meiosis	Belittling	Rhetoric	A belittling of something in order to magnify something else.	The true meaning	Compare to tapeinosis	MEIO
Merismos	Distribution	Meaning	An enumeration of the parts of a whole that has been mentioned.	The whole	Example: “morning and evening” means the whole day.	MERI
Metalepsis	Double Metonymy	Meaning	Two metonymies, one contained in the other, but only one expressed	The meaning underneath	There are at least two steps to discover the meaning	MTLP
Metaphor	Representation	Illustration	A declaration that one thing is (or represents) another, or comparison by representation	Quality that is compared	Usually has form of the verb “to be”	MEPH
Metonymy	Change of Noun	Meaning	The change of one noun for another related noun	The related noun	There are several categories.	MTNY
Oxymoron	Wise-Folly	Rhetoric	A wise saying that seems foolish	The wisdom or lesson implied	Some proverbs utilize this figure	OXYM
Parabola	Parable	Illustration	Comparison by continued resemblance.	Points of comparison	Can be an extended simile with more than one point of comparison. Parable is a broader term in Semitic languages	PARB
Paradiastole	Neither-Nor	Grammar	Repetition of the disjunctives: neither, nor, either, or	Words in between	Consider each noun or phrase carefully	PARD
Paramegnon	Derivation	Repetition	Repetition of words derived from same root: similar in sound but different in meaning	The build up of concept	Usually different nouns or verbs formed from same root but which have distinct meanings of their own	PARM
Paranomasia	Rhyming Words	Repetition	Repetition of words similar in sound, but not in sense or origin.	The concepts that rhyme	Each concept is important	PARN
Parembole	Insertion	Rhetoric	A parenthetic addition complete in itself – a digression.	The parenthesis as a unit	True parentheses where the context is not needed or required to be understood	PARL
Parenthesis	Parenthesis	Rhetoric	A parenthetic addition complete in itself, but needs context to be understood	The following sentence	This is the true figure of parenthesis used as an explanation or description.	PART
Paroemia	Proverb	Rhetoric	A saying, a trite expression, common remark, maxim	The moral lesson implied	These are culturally related and it is important to understand the manners or customs behind the saying	PARE
Paromoesis	Assimilation	Repetition	Repetition of inflections similar in sound	Words with repeated inflections	Also under Repetition in DB	PARO
Periphrasis	Circumlocution	Meaning	When a description is used instead of the name.	The action	Example: “lifted up his voice.”	PERH
Pleonasm	Redundancy	Meaning	Where what is said is immediately after put in another or opposite way to make it impossible for the sense to be missed.	Repeated concept	Second word or phrase is stronger	PLEO
Polyptoton	Many Inflections	Repetition	Repetition of the same noun or verb in different conjugations or inflections.	The root verb	Can be verb with related noun/adjective. Common in Semitic languages.	PLYP
Polysyndeton	Many-Ands	Grammar	The repetition of the word “and” at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.	Each connected noun or phrase	Consider each word connected with “and” carefully	PLYS
Prosopopoeia	Personification	Illustration	Things or ideas represented as persons.	The action	Human characteristics or actions are given to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.	PRSP
Repetitio	Repetition	Repetition	Repetition of the same word or words irregularly in the same passage.	Ties the passage together	The repeated word is emphasized but often to set the structural pattern. Many different kinds	REPT
Simile	Resemblance	Illustration	A declaration that one thing resembles another, comparison by resemblance.	Quality that is compared	Uses “like” or “as” in comparison.	SIML
Synathreosmos	Enumeration	Rhetoric	The enumeration of the parts of a wiole which has not been mentioned	Each concept or phrase	A number of different words are united under a common theme	SYNA
Synecdoche	Transfer (or Part for Whole)	Meaning	The exchange of one idea for another associated idea.	The implied idea	This figure is often used of time.	SYNC
Synonymia	Synonym	Meaning	Repetition of words different in sound and origin, but similar in meaning	The repeated concept	Common in English and Western languages.	SYNO
Tapeinosis	Demeaning	Rhetoric	A lessening of a thing in order to increase it.	The superlative meaning	Differs from meiosis – the word(s) emphasized are the same	TAPE
Zeugma	Unequal Yoke	Rhetoric	When one verb is yoked to two subjects, while grammatically a second verb is required.	First verb	There are four forms in Greek	ZEUG