- idiom: a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual word
- onomatopeia: the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named
- 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
- similie: a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid
- palindrome: a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward
- pun: make a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word
- alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words
- oxymoron: a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction
- hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
- personification: the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form
- symbolism: the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities
- understatement: the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is
- overstatement: exaggeration
- allusion: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly
- cliche: phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought