What does figure of speech mean?

Definitions for figure of speech
fig·ure of speech

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word figure of speech.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. trope, figure of speech, figure, imagenoun

    language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense

Wiktionary

  1. figure of speechnoun

    A word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language.

Wikipedia

  1. Figure of speech

    A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into schemes, which vary the ordinary sequence of words, and tropes, where words carry a meaning other than what they ordinarily signify. An example of a scheme is a polysyndeton: the repetition of a conjunction before every element in a list, whereas the conjunction typically would appear only before the last element, as in "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"—emphasizing the danger and number of animals more than the prosaic wording with only the second "and". An example of a trope is the metaphor, describing one thing as something that it clearly is not in order to lead the mind to compare them, in "All the world's a stage."

ChatGPT

  1. figure of speech

    A figure of speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning different from its literal interpretation. It is used for expressive or rhetorical effect, often to create vivid or imaginative illustrations, comparisons, or contrasts. Examples of figures of speech include metaphors, similes, irony, hyperbole, alliteration, and personification.

Wikidata

  1. Figure of speech

    A figure of speech is the use of a word or a phrase, which ascend from its literal interpretation. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, or synecdoche. Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use, as any figure of speech introduces an ambiguity between literal and figurative interpretation. A figure of speech is sometimes called a rhetorical figure or a locution. Not all theories of meaning have a concept of "literal language". Under theories that do not, figure of speech is not an entirely coherent concept.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of figure of speech in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of figure of speech in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of figure of speech in a Sentence

  1. Mark Twain:

    He would come in and say he changed his mind -- which was a gilded figure of speech, because he didn't have any.

  2. General Boykin:

    They claimed I was calling for violence against transgenders, obviously it is not true. It was a figure of speech. It was meant to be humorous and it was humorous to the audience.

  3. Paul Nappi:

    I agree with the pope as far as being a true Christian, you accept everybody, i happen to like Trump but I don't know if he's literally about building walls or that's just a figure of speech.

  4. Jerry Brown:

    You see, in California we are focusing on bridges, not walls, and that’s more than just a figure of speech.


Translations for figure of speech

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"figure of speech." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/figure+of+speech>.

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    a hazy or indistinct representation
    A obligate
    B interrupt
    C fudge
    D blur

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