Figurative Language
Figurative language can enhance mood, tone, and description.
Simile
The baby girl frowned at Elizabeth, and banged the front of her car seat, like a Supreme Court justice, a rattle as her gavel.
From Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott
Her eyes watered, and her heart stirred with a gasp of tenderness for this girl in the mirror, with all her problems and heartache--skinny and lonely as a heron.
From Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott
I picked up the dog and walked out; his tail wagged and flapped like a fish dying.
From Post Office by Charles Bukowski
She was horrible. Her face was the color of a dirty pillow-case, and the corners of her mouth glistened with wet, which inched like a glacier down the deep grooves enclosing her chin.
From To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Metaphor
A paper under a guy’s arm is insurance against boredom, a companion at the lunch counter, a defense against unwanted conversation on the subway.
From Give a Guy a Newspaper by Bill Vlasic
Clove is scrambling back on all fours, a frantic insect, too shocked to even call for Cato.
From The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Personification
On and on it came howling and tearing up trees. He clung to the rock to keep from being blown away. He tried everything he could think of but the wind kept battering him until at last it lost interest and turned away. That was what it felt like: the wind simply got bored with him. With that it rose into the sky and wandered off.
From The Land of Golden Apples by Nancy Farmer
As the sun rose higher and shone meaner and brighter, Edward became somewhat dazed.
From The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Alliteration
Also, if anyone out there ever wants to experience the ultimate in crippling guilt, I recommend that you try beating a bald, bloated five-year old cancer patient at a board game.
From Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
Hyperbole
After an eternity of steep steps, sweat oozed down Petra’s back and her feet ached.
From The Jewel of the Kalderash by Marie Rutoski
The remainder of my school days were no more auspicious than the first. Indeed they were an endless Project that slowly evolved into a Unit, in which miles of construction paper and wax crayon were expended by the State of Alabama in its well-meaning but fruitless efforts to teach me Group Dynamics.
From To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
If we were lucky, we'd keep right on sailing until we fell right off the edge of the earth.
From The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong
Idiom
Novalee thought it was strange for Willy Jack to be excited about work, but she said she was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so as soon as she picked up her check at Red’s, they left.
From Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
The baby girl frowned at Elizabeth, and banged the front of her car seat, like a Supreme Court justice, a rattle as her gavel.
From Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott
Her eyes watered, and her heart stirred with a gasp of tenderness for this girl in the mirror, with all her problems and heartache--skinny and lonely as a heron.
From Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott
I picked up the dog and walked out; his tail wagged and flapped like a fish dying.
From Post Office by Charles Bukowski
She was horrible. Her face was the color of a dirty pillow-case, and the corners of her mouth glistened with wet, which inched like a glacier down the deep grooves enclosing her chin.
From To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Metaphor
A paper under a guy’s arm is insurance against boredom, a companion at the lunch counter, a defense against unwanted conversation on the subway.
From Give a Guy a Newspaper by Bill Vlasic
Clove is scrambling back on all fours, a frantic insect, too shocked to even call for Cato.
From The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Personification
On and on it came howling and tearing up trees. He clung to the rock to keep from being blown away. He tried everything he could think of but the wind kept battering him until at last it lost interest and turned away. That was what it felt like: the wind simply got bored with him. With that it rose into the sky and wandered off.
From The Land of Golden Apples by Nancy Farmer
As the sun rose higher and shone meaner and brighter, Edward became somewhat dazed.
From The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Alliteration
Also, if anyone out there ever wants to experience the ultimate in crippling guilt, I recommend that you try beating a bald, bloated five-year old cancer patient at a board game.
From Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
Hyperbole
After an eternity of steep steps, sweat oozed down Petra’s back and her feet ached.
From The Jewel of the Kalderash by Marie Rutoski
The remainder of my school days were no more auspicious than the first. Indeed they were an endless Project that slowly evolved into a Unit, in which miles of construction paper and wax crayon were expended by the State of Alabama in its well-meaning but fruitless efforts to teach me Group Dynamics.
From To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
If we were lucky, we'd keep right on sailing until we fell right off the edge of the earth.
From The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong
Idiom
Novalee thought it was strange for Willy Jack to be excited about work, but she said she was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so as soon as she picked up her check at Red’s, they left.
From Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts