Figures of Speech
Figures of Speech is a frequently tested area in CUET English. Work through these free NTA-style sample questions with full answers and explanations, then attempt all 30 in a timed practice test to build exam-day speed.
Snapshot
- Figures of Speech are patterns of language that say more than the literal words do: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, alliteration, irony and more. CUET gives you a line and asks you to name the device.
- Every figure has a signature: a signal word (like, as, O), a behaviour (a thing acting like a person), or a sound or structure pattern (repeated sounds, clashing pairs). Learn the signature and the figure names itself.
- The marks are lost at the borders: simile versus metaphor, metaphor versus personification, metonymy versus synecdoche, hyperbole versus irony. Each border has one deciding question, and this page gives you all of them.
- CUET marking is +5 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong one, so a confident, signature-based answer beats a guess every time.
Part 1 — Why figures of speech are examined, and how the question looks
Written and reviewed by Omveer Thakur, English & Languages faculty at UniDrill (M.A. English, University of Delhi · 9 years teaching). Prepared for the CUET UG English paper.
A figure of speech is language used in a way that goes beyond plain, literal statement to create a picture, a feeling or an emphasis. "He is very brave" is literal. "He is a lion in battle" is a figure: it makes you see courage instead of being told about it. The examiner is not testing your poetry skills. The examiner is testing whether you can look at a line and say, quickly and correctly, which device is at work.
CUET puts the skill in front of you in several shapes. You will meet all of them in the paper, so recognise each one now.
| Question shape | What it looks like | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Direct identification | "The line 'The wind whispered through the trees' contains which figure of speech?" | Run the signature filters (Part 3) and name the figure |
| Which line contains X | Four lines are given; "Which one is an example of hyperbole?" | Test each line for the one signature; eliminate the rest |
| Match the columns | List I: figures. List II: examples. | Match the unmistakable ones first (simile, alliteration), leave the subtle ones for last |
| Odd one out | Three similes and one metaphor | Look for the one line that breaks the shared signal |
| Statement-based | "Statement 1: A simile uses like or as. Statement 2: A metaphor uses like or as." | Check each definition against the signature |
| Assertion and reason | "Assertion: 'Time is a thief' is a metaphor. Reason: it compares without like or as." | Judge each part separately, then judge whether the reason explains the assertion |
| Inside a poem | A stanza, then "The phrase 'the angry sea' is an example of…" | Pull the phrase out of the poem, name the figure, then ask what the poet gains from it |
| Effect or purpose | "Why does the poet use personification in line 3?" | Say what feeling or picture the device creates, using the poem's own idea |
Part 2 — The core figures: definition, signature and example
Learn this table until you can cover the right two columns and rebuild them from the left one.
| Figure | What it does | Signature | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simile | Compares two unlike things openly | The word like or as (or as if) | "Her smile was as bright as the morning." |
| Metaphor | Says one thing is another | Direct "X is Y", no like or as | "The classroom was a zoo." |
| Personification | Gives human actions or feelings to a non-human thing or idea | A non-human subject with a human verb | "The old house sighed in the storm." |
| Hyperbole | Exaggerates on purpose for emphasis | An impossible or absurdly large claim | "I have told you a thousand times." |
| Understatement | Makes something big sound small | Deliberately mild words for a serious fact | "It was a bit of a storm," said of a cyclone. |
| Alliteration | Repeats the same initial consonant sound | Neighbouring words starting with one sound | "Bright blue butterflies bobbed by." |
| Assonance | Repeats a vowel sound inside nearby words | Matching vowel sounds, different consonants | "The cat sat and clapped." |
| Onomatopoeia | The word imitates the sound it names | Sound words | "The bees buzzed; the door slammed." |
| Oxymoron | Joins two contradictory words in one phrase | Two opposite words side by side | "Deafening silence", "bitter sweet" |
| Paradox | A statement that seems self-contradictory but holds a truth | A whole sentence that looks impossible | "The more you give, the more you have." |
| Irony | Meaning is the opposite of the words, or the outcome is the opposite of what was expected | Mismatch of words and situation | "What lovely weather," said during a power cut in a storm. |
| Apostrophe | Speaks directly to someone absent, dead or to an object or idea | A vocative, often beginning with O | "O Death, be not proud." |
| Metonymy | Names a thing by something closely associated with it | A substitute linked by association | "The Crown", "Dalal Street", "Delhi has decided" |
| Synecdoche | A part stands for the whole (or the whole for a part) | A body part or component used for the entire thing | "Hands wanted at the farm"; "a roof over my head" |
| Pun | Plays on a word with two meanings or two similar sounds | A line that works two ways | "I used to be a banker, but I lost interest." |
| Euphemism | A gentle word replaces a harsh one | Soft phrase for death, loss, illness | "He passed away." |
| Antithesis | Sets opposite ideas in balanced phrases | Parallel structure with opposites | "To err is human, to forgive divine." |
| Anaphora | Repeats the same word or phrase at the start of successive lines | Same opening words, line after line | "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds." |
| Climax | Arranges ideas in rising order of importance | Each idea stronger than the last | "He tried, he struggled, he triumphed." |
| Rhetorical question | A question asked for effect, not for an answer | A question whose answer is obvious | "Who does not want to be happy?" |
Part 3 — The method: three filters, then the border questions
Do not try to recall definitions in the middle of the exam. Run the line through three filters in this order and the figure usually appears by the second one.
| Filter | Question to ask | If yes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Signal words | Is there like, as, as if, an opening O, or a sound word? | Simile, apostrophe, onomatopoeia |
| 2. Behaviour | Is a non-human thing doing something only a person does (smile, whisper, sleep, cry, march)? | Personification |
| 3. Pattern | Are there repeated sounds, repeated openings, balanced opposites, or two clashing words? | Alliteration or assonance, anaphora, antithesis, oxymoron |
If none of the three fires, move to meaning. Ask whether the claim is impossible but obviously playful (hyperbole), whether the words say the reverse of what is meant (irony), whether one thing is simply declared to be another (metaphor), and whether a part, a place or a symbol is standing in for something bigger (synecdoche or metonymy).
The five-step version for the exam is short enough to hold in your head: signal first, then behaviour, then pattern, then meaning, then check the borders.
Part 4 — The four borders where marks are lost
Almost every wrong answer in this topic comes from a confusion between two neighbours. Each confusion has a single deciding question.
| Border | Deciding question | Resolution | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simile or metaphor | Is like or as present? | Present means simile. Absent and "X is Y" means metaphor. | "He ran like the wind" is a simile. "He was the wind" is a metaphor. |
| Metaphor or personification | Is a human action or feeling given to a non-human thing? | If yes, personification (a special kind of metaphor). If the line only equates two things, it is a plain metaphor. | "The road is a ribbon" is metaphor. "The road climbed the hill" is personification. |
| Metonymy or synecdoche | Is the substitute a part of the thing, or only associated with it? | Part of the thing: synecdoche. Associated but separate: metonymy. | "Fifty head of cattle" (part) is synecdoche. "The bench ruled" (the judges, through the seat they sit on) is metonymy. |
| Hyperbole or irony | Does the line inflate a fact, or reverse its meaning? | Inflates: hyperbole. Reverses: irony. | "A million thanks" is hyperbole. "Thanks a lot," said to someone who spilled your tea, is irony. |
Two more borders deserve a sentence each. Alliteration repeats the first sound of words, while assonance repeats vowel sounds anywhere in the word. Oxymoron is two contradictory words in one phrase ("living dead"), while paradox is a whole statement that seems contradictory but turns out true ("the child is the father of the man").
Part 5 — Worked examples with the reasoning
Each example shows the line, the filter that fired, and why the near-neighbours were rejected.
Example 1. "The stars danced in the sky." Filter 2 fires: stars are not people and cannot dance. The answer is personification. Not metaphor, because the line does not equate stars with anything; it gives them a human action.
Example 2. "He is as cunning as a fox." Filter 1 fires on as … as. The answer is simile. The fact that a fox is an animal does not matter; the signal word decides.
Example 3. "Life is a journey." No signal word, no human action, and one thing is declared to be another. The answer is metaphor.
Example 4. "I am so hungry I could eat a horse." Nobody means this literally, and the claim is inflated, not reversed. The answer is hyperbole.
Example 5. "The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, the furrow followed free." The words fair, foam, flew, furrow and followed repeat the f sound at the start of words. The answer is alliteration. Not assonance: the repeated element is the opening consonant, not a vowel sound.
Example 6. "O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done." The vocative O and the direct address to someone who cannot answer. The answer is apostrophe.
Example 7. "Dalal Street closed higher today." A street cannot close higher; the name stands for the stock market and its traders through a well-known association. The answer is metonymy. Not synecdoche, because the street is not a part of the market in the way a hand is part of a worker; it is a place linked to it.
Example 8. "A deafening silence filled the hall." Two contradictory words in one phrase. The answer is oxymoron.
Example 9. "The fire crackled and the logs hissed." Both verbs imitate the sound they name. The answer is onomatopoeia.
Example 10. "All hands on deck!" Hands cannot work without people; a part of the sailor stands for the whole sailor. The answer is synecdoche.
Example 11. "Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink." The repetition of the single word for emphasis. The answer is repetition. Do not call it alliteration: the repeated word is the same word, not just the same opening sound.
Example 12. "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." The second half reverses the order of the first. The answer is chiasmus. Trap: antithesis also sets two ideas against each other, but chiasmus is specifically the reversed structure, A-B then B-A.
Example 13. "She was not unkind." Saying a thing by denying its opposite, with the effect of mild praise. The answer is litotes, a form of understatement.
Example 14. "The sky wept as they buried him." The sky cannot weep, so personification is present. Because the weather is matched to the mourners' grief, the more precise label is pathetic fallacy. If both are options, the question wording decides: "nature mirrors human mood" points to pathetic fallacy, "a thing given a human action" points to personification.
Part 6 — Less common devices that still appear
CUET leans on the first group of figures, but options and match-the-column items borrow from the second group. Know each one by a single clear example.
| Device | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Allusion | A brief reference to a well-known person, event or text | "He met his Waterloo" (a decisive defeat) |
| Transferred epithet | An adjective moves from the person it really describes to a nearby noun | "A sleepless night" (the person is sleepless, not the night) |
| Pathetic fallacy | Nature mirrors human mood | "The sky wept as they buried him." |
| Synaesthesia | One sense described in terms of another | "A loud shirt", "a sweet sound" |
| Epigram | A short, witty, memorable saying | "The child is father of the man." |
| Tautology | Needless repetition of the same idea in different words | "A free gift", "reverse back" |
| Zeugma | One word governs two others in different senses | "She lost her keys and her temper." |
| Chiasmus | Reversed parallel structure | "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." |
| Consonance | Repeated consonant sounds inside or at the end of words | "Pitter-patter" |
| Litotes | Understatement made by denying the opposite | "She is not unkind." |
| Repetition | The same word or phrase repeated for emphasis | "Water, water, everywhere" |
| Imagery | Vivid language that creates a sensory picture | "Golden daffodils fluttering in the breeze" |
| Symbolism | An object or image that stands for an idea | A dove for peace, a road for life's choices |
Part 7 — Reading the purpose of a figure
The most common follow-up question inside a poem is not "name it" but "why did the poet use it?". The answer is always one of a handful of effects, and recognising the effect often confirms the name.
| Figure | Typical effect to write or choose |
|---|---|
| Simile | Makes an idea concrete and easy to picture |
| Metaphor | Compresses a whole comparison into one forceful image |
| Personification | Makes nature or an idea feel alive, so the reader sympathises or fears |
| Hyperbole | Shows the strength of an emotion |
| Irony | Criticises or exposes by saying the opposite |
| Alliteration | Adds music and draws attention to a phrase |
| Oxymoron | Captures a feeling that is torn between two pulls |
| Apostrophe | Makes the speaker's feeling urgent and personal |
| Anaphora | Builds rhythm and insistence |
| Climax | Raises tension step by step |
When the question gives four options of "effect", choose the one that matches the line's emotion, not the one that merely repeats the figure's name.
Part 8 — Common traps
| Trap | Why it tempts | The truth |
|---|---|---|
| Calling a simile a metaphor | Both compare things | If like or as is present, it is a simile, always |
| Calling every non-literal line a metaphor | Metaphor feels like the "default" figure | Metaphor needs "X is Y". If a thing acts like a person, it is personification |
| Mixing metonymy and synecdoche | Both substitute one word for another | Part of the thing is synecdoche; associated thing is metonymy |
| Hyperbole versus irony | Both say something untrue | Hyperbole inflates; irony reverses |
| Alliteration versus assonance | Both are repeated sounds | Alliteration repeats beginning consonants; assonance repeats vowels |
| Oxymoron versus paradox | Both involve contradiction | Oxymoron is two words; paradox is a whole statement |
| Onomatopoeia versus alliteration | "Buzz" and "boom" repeat letters | Onomatopoeia is about imitating a sound, not repeating initial letters |
| Seeing "like" in a non-simile | "I like it" or "like a boss" in an idiom | The word must introduce a comparison between two unlike things |
| Over-reading a plain description | A line about a sunset feels poetic | A literal description with no comparison is not a figure |
Part 9 — Rapid-fire practice (name the figure)
Cover the answer column and name each figure within five seconds.
| No. | Line | Answer | Clue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The camera loves her." | Personification | A device has a human feeling |
| 2 | "His words were music to my ears." | Metaphor | Direct equation |
| 3 | "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." | Alliteration | Repeated p |
| 4 | "I could sleep for a year." | Hyperbole | Impossible length of sleep |
| 5 | "Boom! went the cannon." | Onomatopoeia | Sound word |
| 6 | "A bittersweet memory." | Oxymoron | Two opposite words |
| 7 | "The pen is mightier than the sword." | Metonymy | Writing and warfare, by association |
| 8 | "She's as light as a feather." | Simile | as … as |
| 9 | "O Wind, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" | Apostrophe | Address to the wind |
| 10 | "Water, water, everywhere." | Repetition | Same word repeated |
| 11 | "What a pleasant surprise, my flight is cancelled!" | Irony | Words reverse the meaning |
| 12 | "We need more hands at the harvest." | Synecdoche | Hands for workers |
| 13 | "The sun smiled down on the fields." | Personification | The sun smiles |
| 14 | "To err is human, to forgive divine." | Antithesis | Balanced opposites |
| 15 | "He passed away peacefully." | Euphemism | Soft phrase for death |
| 16 | "It was a long, long, long wait." | Repetition (emphasis) | Repeated word |
| 17 | "Crown, throne and sceptre trembled." | Metonymy | Symbols stand for the monarchy |
| 18 | "She's not a bad dancer." | Litotes | Denying the opposite |
| 19 | "A sleepless night." | Transferred epithet | Adjective moved to a nearby noun |
| 20 | "He met his Waterloo." | Allusion | Reference to a famous defeat |
| 21 | "I have been waiting here for ages." | Hyperbole | Exaggerated length of time |
| 22 | "Less is more." | Paradox | Seems contradictory but is true |
| 23 | "The leaves whispered to one another." | Personification | Leaves can't whisper |
| 24 | "The thunder grumbled across the hills." | Personification | Thunder given a human mood |
| 25 | "We will not rest, we will not tire, we will not stop." | Anaphora | Repeated opening |
Part 10 — A timed-practice routine
Memorising the table takes one evening. Speed takes a week. Here is a routine that gets you to exam speed.
| Day | Task | Time | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Learn Parts 2 and 4 until you can write both tables from memory | 40 minutes | Zero hesitation on the first ten figures |
| 2 | Part 5 examples: cover the answer, name the figure, then read the reasoning | 25 minutes | 12 out of 14 |
| 3 | Part 9: do all 25 lines against the clock | 3 minutes | 22 out of 25 |
| 4 | Take any poem from your textbook and underline every figure; write the name above it | 20 minutes | Find at least four devices |
| 5 | Write one original line for each of ten figures | 15 minutes | All correct on re-check |
| 6 | Do 15 figure-of-speech questions from the practice bank | 12 minutes | 80 percent or above |
| 7 | Revisit every wrong answer; write the border question that would have saved it | 15 minutes | Each error explained in one sentence |
In the real paper, allow at most 40 seconds per figure question. If a line still refuses to be named after two filters, eliminate the figures that clearly do not fit and choose from the rest. With negative marking, a reasoned guess between two options is a fair bet; a blind guess from four is not.
Part 11 — Where this connects
Figures of speech show up wherever a passage turns poetic or persuasive. Read them next to these pages:
| If you want to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Apply figures to a full poem, with tone and imagery questions | Reading Comprehension — Poetry |
| See how prose passages use irony, tone and hyperbole | Reading Comprehension — Prose |
| Learn idioms, which are frozen metaphors and often tested alongside figures | Idioms & Phrases |
| Build the vocabulary that makes descriptive lines easier to decode | Synonyms |
| Fix word meaning when a poet uses a familiar word in an unusual sense | Word Meaning in Context |
One-line revision: like or as means simile, a direct equation means metaphor, a thing acting human means personification, an inflated claim means hyperbole, a reversed meaning means irony, a repeated first sound means alliteration, and a part for the whole means synecdoche.
Practice questions
Now test yourself. 8 free sample questions with explanations. 22 more in the timed practice test.
Q1. Identify the figure of speech in the line: "I'm so hungry I could eat an entire horse right now."
▸ Show answer & explanation
Answer: C
Claiming to be able to eat a whole horse is an obvious exaggeration used to stress extreme hunger, not a literal statement. Such overstatement for effect is hyperbole.
Q2. Identify the figure of speech in the line: "Her smile was as bright as the morning sun."
▸ Show answer & explanation
Answer: B
Two unlike things, a smile and the sun, are compared explicitly using the word 'as'. An explicit comparison with like/as is a simile, whereas a metaphor would omit such words.
Q3. Identify the figure of speech in the line: "The pen is mightier than the sword."
▸ Show answer & explanation
Answer: C
'Pen' represents writing or ideas and 'sword' represents military force; each object substitutes for an associated concept. Substituting an associated object for the idea meant is metonymy.
Q4. Identify the figure of speech in the line: "The White House announced new measures on Tuesday morning."
▸ Show answer & explanation
Answer: B
'The White House' is used to mean the US presidential administration, a building standing for the institution housed in it. Naming a thing by an associated place is metonymy.
Q5. Identify the figure of speech in the line: "The silken sands slipped softly through the sailor's hands."
▸ Show answer & explanation
Answer: B
The recurring initial 's' sound in 'silken sands slipped softly sailor's' threads through the line. Repetition of the same opening consonant sound in close words is alliteration.
Q6. Identify the figure of speech in the line: "My grandmother's love could fill the seven seas to the brim."
▸ Show answer & explanation
Answer: A
Saying love could fill seven seas is a vast exaggeration to stress how immense the love is, not a literal measure. Extreme overstatement for emphasis is hyperbole.
Q7. Identify the figure of speech in the line: "He earns his bread by working long hours at the mill."
▸ Show answer & explanation
Answer: B
'Bread' stands for livelihood or income in general, a single associated item representing the wider idea of food and earnings. Using a related thing to mean the whole concept is metonymy.
Q8. Identify the figure of speech in the line: "He is a walking dictionary, knowing every word you ask."
▸ Show answer & explanation
Answer: B
The person is directly called 'a walking dictionary' to express vast vocabulary, equating him with a dictionary without like or as. This implied identification is a metaphor.
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