What Figurative Language Is: Definition, Types and Examples

Figurative language is wording that means something other than its literal, dictionary meaning. “It’s raining cats and dogs” is figurative: nobody expects animals to fall from the sky, and everyone understands it means heavy rain. Writers use figurative language to make an idea more vivid, more compact or easier to feel.

The opposite is literal language, which means exactly what it says. “It’s raining heavily” is literal.

Figurative vs. literal language

The quickest test is to ask whether the sentence would be true if you took every word at face value.

“My backpack weighs a ton” is figurative. It is an exaggeration.

“My backpack weighs twelve pounds” is literal. It is a measurement.

Most everyday speech mixes the two without anyone noticing. “I’m drowning in homework” and “that test was a breeze” are both figurative, and both are so common that they barely register as figures of speech.

The main types of figurative language

There are dozens of named figures of speech, but school assignments usually focus on the eight below.

Simile

A simile compares two different things using “like” or “as.”

Example: “The classroom was as quiet as a library on a Sunday.”

The comparison is out in the open, which makes similes the easiest type to spot.

Metaphor

A metaphor compares two things by saying one is the other, without “like” or “as.”

Example: “The hallway was a river of students between classes.”

Metaphors are stronger than similes because they don’t hedge. Our post on metaphor in Letter from Birmingham Jail walks through eight real examples and what each one does.

Personification

Personification gives human qualities or actions to something that is not human.

Example: “The old printer groaned every time someone pressed print.”

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration for effect. It is not meant to be believed.

Example: “I’ve told you a million times to put your name on your paper.”

Idiom

An idiom is a fixed phrase whose meaning can’t be worked out from the individual words.

Examples: “break the ice,” “hit the books,” “under the weather.”

Idioms are the hardest type for English learners, because the literal meaning is usually no help at all.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the sound it describes.

Examples: “buzz,” “sizzle,” “thud,” “crack.”

Some teachers classify it as a sound device rather than figurative language, so check which list your class is using.

Alliteration

Alliteration repeats the same first consonant sound in nearby words.

Example: “Silent students scribbled steadily.”

Like onomatopoeia, it is about sound more than meaning, and it often appears on figurative-language lists anyway.

Oxymoron

An oxymoron puts two contradictory words side by side.

Examples: “deafening silence,” “jumbo shrimp,” “seriously funny.”

Other types you may see

Allusion is a brief reference to a well-known person, place, story or event, such as calling a hard task “my Everest.”

Symbolism uses an object to stand for a larger idea, such as a dove for peace.

Understatement deliberately makes something sound smaller than it is, such as calling a hurricane “a bit of wind.”

Irony says the opposite of what is meant, or shows the opposite of what is expected.

Why writers use figurative language

It creates a picture. “Her voice was sandpaper” gives you a sound in four words.

It explains something unfamiliar through something familiar. Comparing the heart to a pump is a metaphor that has helped generations of students understand circulation.

It carries tone. Hyperbole makes writing funny or dramatic. Understatement makes it dry.

It makes a line memorable. Speeches and slogans lean on metaphor and alliteration because they stick.

How to identify figurative language in a text

Read the sentence literally first. If the literal meaning is impossible or silly, the writer is being figurative.

Look for “like” or “as” to catch similes. Look for “is,” “was” or “are” joining two unlike things to catch metaphors.

Check whether a non-human thing is doing something only a person could do. That is personification.

Once you’ve named the device, explain its effect. “This is a simile” earns little credit on its own. “This simile makes the room feel tense and silent” is analysis. Our guide on how to analyze a quote in an essay shows how to build that explanation.

Teaching figurative language

For younger students, start with similes and hyperbole, which are the easiest to hear. Move to metaphor and personification once students can explain a simile.

Song lyrics, picture books and ads are good sources because they are short and full of figures of speech. Students can also rewrite a figurative sentence literally and compare the two versions, which makes the effect obvious.

For English learners, teach idioms in small themed groups (weather idioms, school idioms) with the literal meaning beside each one. Our English class quotes post has lines about language that work well as warm-ups.

FAQ

What is figurative language in simple words?

It is language that doesn’t mean exactly what the words say, used to describe something in a more vivid way.

What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?

A simile uses “like” or “as” to compare. A metaphor says one thing is another.

Is an idiom figurative language?

Yes. Idioms are figurative because their meaning isn’t the literal meaning of the words.

How many types of figurative language are there?

There is no fixed number. Most school lists include between six and twelve types, with simile, metaphor, personification and hyperbole on nearly all of them.