figure of speech

figure of speech

n. pl. figures of speech

An expression that uses language in a nonliteral way, such as a metaphor or synecdoche, or in a structured or unusual way, such as anaphora or chiasmus, or that employs sounds, such as alliteration or assonance, to achieve a rhetorical effect.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

figure of speech

n

(Rhetoric) an expression of language, such as simile, metaphor, or personification, by which the usual or literal meaning of a word is not employed

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fig′ure of speech′

n.

an expression in which words are used in a nonliteral sense, as in metaphor, or in an unusual construction, as in antithesis, or for their sounds, as in onomatopoeia, to suggest vivid images or to heighten effect.

[1815–25]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

figure of speech - language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense trope, image, figure cakewalk - an easy accomplishment; "winning the tournament was a cakewalk for him"; "invading Iraq won't be a cakewalk" blind alley - (figurative) a course of action that is unproductive and offers no hope of improvement; "all the clues led the police into blind alleys"; "so far every road that we've been down has turned out to be a blind alley" megahit, smash hit, blockbuster - an unusually successful hit with widespread popularity and huge sales (especially a movie or play or recording or novel) sleeper - an unexpected hit; "that movie was the sleeper of the summer" home run, bell ringer, bull's eye, mark - something that exactly succeeds in achieving its goal; "the new advertising campaign was a bell ringer"; "scored a bull's eye"; "hit the mark"; "the president's speech was a home run" housecleaning - (figurative) the act of reforming by the removal of unwanted personnel or practices or conditions; "more housecleaning is in store at other accounting firms"; "many employees were discharged in a general housecleaning by the new owners" goldbrick - anything that is supposed to be valuable but turns out to be worthless lens - (metaphor) a channel through which something can be seen or understood; "the writer is the lens through which history can be seen" rhetorical device - a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance) conceit - an elaborate poetic image or a far-fetched comparison of very dissimilar things irony - a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs exaggeration, hyperbole - extravagant exaggeration kenning - conventional metaphoric name for something, used especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry metaphor - a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity metonymy - substituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself (as in `they counted heads') oxymoron - conjoining contradictory terms (as in `deafening silence') prosopopoeia, personification - representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature simile - a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with `like' or `as') synecdoche - substituting a more inclusive term for a less inclusive one or vice versa zeugma - use of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one; "`Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave' is an example of zeugma" domino effect - the consequence of one event setting off a chain of similar events (like a falling domino causing a whole row of upended dominos to fall) flip side - a different aspect of something (especially the opposite aspect); "the flip side of your positive qualities sometimes get out of control"; "on the flip side of partnerships he talked about their competition" period - the end or completion of something; "death put a period to his endeavors"; "a change soon put a period to my tranquility" summer - the period of finest development, happiness, or beauty; "the golden summer of his life" dawn - an opening time period; "it was the dawn of the Roman Empire" evening - a later concluding time period; "it was the evening of the Roman Empire" rainy day - a (future) time of financial need; "I am saving for a rainy day"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

figure of speech

noun expression, image, turn of phrase, trope It was just a figure of speech.

Figures of speech

alliteration, allusion, anacoluthia, anadiplosis, analogy, anaphora, anastrophe, antiphrasis, antithesis, antonomasia, apophasis, aporia, aposiopesis, apostrophe, catachresis, chiasmus, circumlocution, climax, emphasis, epanaphora, epanorthosis, exclamation, gemination, hendiadys, hypallage, hyperbaton, hyperbole, hysteron proteron, inversion, irony, kenning, litotes, malapropism, meiosis, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, paralipsis or paraleipsis, parenthesis, periphrasis, personification, pleonasm, polysyndeton, prolepsis, prosopopoeia or prosopopeia, repetition, rhetorical question, sarcasm, simile, spoonerism, syllepsis, synechdoche, tmesis, zeugma

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

إستِعارَه، تَشْبيه

figura

billedligt udtryk

Redewendungsprachliches Stilmittel

kielikuva

façon de parlerfigure de style

szókép

líking, myndhverfing

figura retorica

billedlig uttrykktalemåte

figura de linguagem

talesätt

mecaz

修辞的说法比喻的说法

figure of speech

n → figura retorica
it's just a figure of speech (fig) → è solo un modo di dire

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

figure

(ˈfigə) , ((American) ˈfigjər) noun

1. the form or shape of a person. A mysterious figure came towards me; That girl has got a good figure. figuur; postuur شَكْل، صورَه фигура figura postava die Gestalt, die Figur skikkelse μορφή, φιγούραfigura (keha)kuju هیکل؛ قیافه hahmo silhouetteדמות शारीरिक आकृति izgled, stas alak sosok ásÿnd, útlit; vaxtarlag figura; personale 姿 인물 figūra figūra; augums susuk figuurform, skikkelse, figur, kroppsbygningpostać, sylwetka شکل figura siluetă фигура postava postava figura figur รูปร่าง şahıs 人形 фігура, тіло جسمانی شکل dáng người 人形

2. a (geometrical) shape. The page was covered with a series of triangles, squares and other geometrical figures. figure شَكْل тяло figura obrazec die Figur figur σχήμαfigura kujund شکل هندسی muoto figureצורה आकृति lik, (geometrijski) oblik (sík)idom bentuk mynd figura 図形 모양, 도형 figūra (ģeometriska) figūra bentuk figuurfigur, form, mønsterfigura د هندسی شکل figura figură фигура obrazec lik figura figur รูปทรง şekil 圖形 фігура, тіло دو ابعادی سطح جو کسی خط یا خطوط سے گھری ہو (toán học) hình 图形

3. a symbol representing a number. a six-figure telephone number. syfer رَقْم цифра algarismo cifra die Zahl, ...-stellig ciffer, tal ψηφίοcifra, número number شماره numero chiffre סִיפרָה रेखाचित्र brojka szám(jegy) angka tala, tölustafur cifra 数字 숫자를 나타내는 기호 skaitmuo cipars angka cijfer tall, siffercyfra شمیره número/cifra, algarismo cifră цифра cifra številka cifra siffra ตัวเลข sayı, rakam 數字 цифра علامت عددی con số 数字

4. a diagram or drawing to explain something. The parts of a flower are shown in figure 3. figuur شَكْل بَياني схема figura obrázek die Abbildung figur; diagram διάγραμμαdiagrama joonis شکل؛ تصویر kuva figureציור आरेख crtež, dijagram ábra, diagram gambar skÿringarmynd figura 図 도표 piešinys zīmējums; diagramma gambar rajah afbeeldingfigur rycina, rysunek شکل،تصویر figura figură диаграмма, рисунок obrázok prikaz crtež figur รูปภาพ resim, şekil 圖 малюнок, ілюстрація نقشہ یا خاکہ biểu đồ hoặc hình vẽ minh hoạ 图

verb

1. to appear (in a story etc). She figures largely in the story. figureer يَظْهَر явявам се figurar figurovat eine Rolle spielen figurere; optræde εμφανίζομαιaparecer, figurar esinema به نظر رسیدن esiintyä figurer לְכָּכֵב दिखाई देना pojaviti se (nastupati) kao szerepel muncul koma fram, birtast figurare 現われる 나타나다 figūruoti, vaidinti žymų vaidmenį figurēt, parādīties muncul een rol spelen opptre, forekomme, figurerefigurować, występować په نظر کی نیول figurar a-şi imagina фигурировать figurovať nastopati pokazati se figurera ปรากฏตัวขึ้น görünmek 出現 фігурувати, грати помітну роль کسی کہانی میں مذکور ہونا hiện ra hoặc được nói đến 出现

2. to think, estimate or consider. I figured that you would arrive before half past eight. gereken; geskat يَعْتَقِد، يَتَوَقَّع смятам calcular myslet, počítat glauben forestille; gætte på υπολογίζω, θεωρώfigurar arvama, arvestama تصور کردن؛ تخمین زدن arvella penser לְהַעֲרִיך, לַחשוֹב, לְהָנִיח कल्पना करना pretpostaviti, misliti gondol berpikir hugsa, reikna út pensare 思う 생각하다 manyti, laikyti aprēķināt; iedomāties fikir vermoedenregne med, venteliczyć فکر کول calcular a crede, a considera считать myslieť računati računati anta, räkna med ประเมิน; คาดคะเน düşünmek, sanmak, tahmin etmek 估計 розраховувати اندازہ لگانا، خیال کرنا suy nghĩ; tính toán 估计

ˈfigurative (-rətiv) adjective

of or using figures of speech. figurative language. figuurlik مَجازي، إسْتِعاري метафоричен figurado obrazný bilderreich billedlig μεταφορικόςfigurado kujundlik پر استعاره kuvaannollinen figuré מַשמָעוּת מוּשאֶלֶת आलंकारिक figurativan, metaforički képletes figuratif líkinga-; myndrænn; óeiginlegur figurato 比喩的な 비유(수식)가 많은 vaizdingas, metaforiškas metaforisks; gleznains; tēlains kiasan figuurlijk figurativ, bilderikprzenośny, metaforyczny نمونه يې، رمزى (سمبوليك)، مجازى، كنايى، ترسيمى، صنعت لرونكى figurativo/figurado figurativ образный obrazný prenesen figurativan bildlig ซึ่งเป็นอุปมาอุปไมย mecâzi 比喻的 фігуральний, переносний مجازی bóng bảy; văn hoa 比喻的

ˈfiguratively adverb

figuurlik بِصورَة مَجازِيَّه أو إستِعاريَّه метафорично figuradamente obrazně bildlich billedligt μεταφορικάfiguradamente, metafóricamente kujundlikult بطور تمثیلی kuvaannollisesti métaphoriquement בְּהַשאָלָה आलंकारिक रूप से figurativno, slikovito képletesen secara figuratif á myndrænan hátt, myndrænt metaforicamente 比喩的に 비유적으로 vaizdingai, metaforiškai metaforiski; gleznaini; tēlaini dengan kiasan figuurlijk billedlig, med et bilde, i overført betydning przenośnie, metaforycznie دنمونې په ډول، په مجازى تو ګه figurativamente/-adamente figurat; metaforic образно obrazne preneseno figurativno bildligt, i bildlig bemärkelse อย่างอุปมาอุไมย mecâzi olarak 比喻地 фігурально, в переносному значенні مجازی طور پر văn hoa; bóng bảy 比喻地

ˈfigurehead noun

1. a person who is officially a leader but who does little or has little power. She is the real leader of the party – he is only a figurehead. strooipop; skynhoof رَئيس صُوَري фигурант fachada loutka das Aushängeschild kransekagefigur εικονικός ηγέτης títere nimeline juht لولو سر خرمن keulakuva prête-nom מַנהִיג בְּתַפקִיד סִמלִי नाममात्र का अध्यक्ष obična figura, osoba na vlasti bez stvarne moći báb pemimpin hanya namanya saja, boneka valdamaður að nafni til, toppfígúra prestanome 名ばかりの頭首 명목(표면)상의 우두머리 statytinis nomināls vadītājs boneka naamgallionsfigur, toppfigur figurant هغه انځور چه دبيړۍ په مخكينۍ خوا ښكل شوى وې: تش په نامه مشر، بې اختياره مشر figura de proa persoană cu funcţie onori­fică номинальный глава bábka, figúrka lutka nominalni vođa galjonsfigur หัวหน้าแต่ในนาม göstermelik kimse, kukla 名義上的首腦，傀儡 номінальна фігура بے اختیار سر براہ kẻ bù nhìn 挂名头头，傀儡

2. an ornamental figure (usually of carved wood) attached to the front of a ship. boegbeeld تِمثال في مُقَدَّمَة السَّفينَه изображение на човешка фигура на носа на кораб figura de proa galionová figura die Galionsfigur gallionsfigur ακρόπρωρο figura de proa käilakuju سینه تندیس keulakuva figure de proue צֶלֶם בְּחַרטוֹם אוֹנִיָה जहाज के अगले हिस्से में काष्ठ की मूर्ति (drveni) lik na pramcu broda orrszobor (hajón) patung haluan stafnslíkan figura di prua 船首飾り 선수상 drožinys laivo pirmagalyje rotājums kuģa priekšgalā patung haluan boegbeeld gallionsfigur rzeźba dziobowa ښايسته شكل figura de proa galion носовое украшение galionová figúra figura na kljunu figura na pramcu broda galjonsfigur รูปแกะสลักบนหัวเรือ; แม่ย่านางเรือ gemi aslanı 船頭雕飾 носова прикраса جہاز کے مستک پر کندہ کی ہوئی شکل hình chạm ở đầu mũi tàu 船头雕饰

figure of speech

one of several devices (eg metaphor, simile) for using words not with their ordinary meanings but to make a striking effect. stylfiguur إستِعارَه، تَشْبيه езиков похват figura de estilo řečnická figura sprachliches Stilmittel billedligt udtryk σχήμα λόγου figura retórica kõnekujund هر یک از صنایع ادبی kielikuva fa��on de parler ביטוי अलंकार slikovito izražavanje, govorne figure szókép perumpamaan líking, myndhverfing modo di dire 比喩 비유 stilistinė priemonė tēlainās izteiksmes līdzekļi perumpamaan stijlfiguur billedlig uttrykk, talemåte metafora, zwrot retoryczny هغه انځور چه دبيړۍ په مخكينۍ خوا ښكل شوى وې figura de estilo figură de stil образное выражение ozdoba pesniška figura figurativno izražavanje bildligt uttryck คำสำนวณ mecaz 修辭方法 образний вислів تسلیم شدہ ضائع و بدائع خصوصا استعارہ hình thái tu từ 修辞的说法，比喻的说法

figure out

to understand. I can't figure out why he said that. uitredeneer يَفْهَم، يُدْرِك разбирам entender pochopit herausfinden forstå καταλαβαίνωcomprender ära arvama فهمیدن ymmärtää arriver à comprendre לְהָבִין समझना shvatiti, razumjeti kiókumulál (vmit) memahami skilja capire, comprendere 理解する 파악하다 suprasti, suvokti saprast; izprast memahami erachter komen finne ut av, regne utrozumieć, pojąć پوهیدل entender a înţelege, a pricepe понимать pochopiť razbrati razumeti förstå, komma underfund med เข้าใจ anlamak 理解 збагнути, зрозуміти اندازہ لگانا hiểu 理解

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