Tropes by type

thumb|upright=1.35|1835 etching by George Cruikshank illustrating the metaphor of describing strong weather as "raining cats, dogs and pitchforks" A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for literary effect, refers to one thing by mentioning another. Thus, it invites the audience to make a comparison between two normally unrelated entities or ideas, which may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between them. Metaphors are usually meant to create a likeness or an analogy.

thumb|The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the [[United States Department of Defense and is a common metonym for the US military and its leadership]] Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly seen wearing business attire, such as business executives, bankers, or lawyers.

thumb|A common example of synecdoche: using the term boots to mean "soldiers", as in the phrase "boots on the ground".

psychological concept for when a single idea (an image, memory, or thought) or dream object stands for several associations and ideas