Figurative Language/Rhetorical Fallacies
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48 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Diction | word choice |
| Syntax | ordering of words in a sentence |
| Style | manner of expression |
| Tone | attitude, mood, or sentiments revealed by the style |
| Point of view | stance revealed by the style and the tone of the writing |
| Imagery | to be synonymous with figurative language |
| Hyperbole | overstatement or exaggeration |
| Understatement | presents the fact in a way that makes them appear much less significant than they really are |
| Simile | comparison between two unlike objects, in which the two parts are connected with a term such as like or as |
| Metaphor | simile without like or as |
| Extended Metaphor | metaphor that lasts for longer than just one phrase or sentence |
| Symbol | word that represents something other than itself |
| Denotation | word's primary or literal significance |
| Connotation | vast range of other meanings that a word suggests |
| Oxymoron | apparent contradiction of terms |
| Paradox | apparent contradiction of ideas or statements and is closely related to the oxymoron |
| Personification | figurative device in which inanimate objects or concepts are given human qualities |
| Rhetorical question | question whose answer is obvious and is rarely answered |
| Bombast | language that is overly rhetorical, especially when considered in context |
| Pun | play on words |
| Metonymy | one term is substituted for another term with which it is closely associated |
| Synecdoche | form of metonymy that is restricted to cases where a part is used to signify the whole |
| Theme | general idea contained in a text |
| Aphorism | concise, pithy statement of an opinion or a general truth |
| Malapropism | unintentional use of a word that resembles the word intended but that has a very different meaning |
| Circumlocution | talking around a subject/talking around a word |
| Euphemism | word or words that are used to avoid employing an unpleasant or offensive term |
| Verbal irony | process of starting something but meaning the opposite of what is stated |
| Sarcasm | verbal irony used with the intent to injure |
| Situational irony | a situation that runs contrary to what was expected |
| Satire | something is portrayed in a way that's deliberately distorted to achieve comic effect |
| Ad hominem | any kind of fallacious argument that criticizes an idea by pointing something out about the person who holds the idea rather than directly addressing the actual merit of the idea |
| Argument from authority | a form in attempt to convince the reader based on the authority of a famous person or entity or on his or her own character |
| Appeal to ignorance | based on the assumption that whatever has not been proven false must be true |
| Begging the question | fallacious form of argument in which someone assumes that parts of what the person claims to be proving are proven facts |
| Hasty Generalization | deliberately leading the reader to a conclusion by providing insufficient selective evidence |
| Non Sequitur | a statement that does not relate logically to what comes before it |
| False dichotomy | consists of a consideration of only the two extremes when there are one or more intermediate possibilities |
| Slippery Slope | suggest dire consequences from relatively minor causes |
| Faulty Causality | setting up of a cause and effect relationship when none exists |
| Straw man argument | an oversimplification of an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack |
| Sentimental Appeals | appeal to the hearts of readers to draw the attention away from their minds |
| Red Herring | shift attention away from an important issue by introducing an issue that has no logical connection to the discussion at hand |
| Scare Tactic | frighten readers into agreeing with the speaker |
| Bandwagon Appeals | peer pressure |
| Dogmatism | does not allow for discussion because the speaker presumes that his or her beliefs are beyond question |
| Equivocation | telling part of the truth, while deliberately hiding the entire truth |
| Faulty Analogy | an illogical misleading comparison between two things |
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