metonymy

[mi-ton-uh-mee] / mɪˈtɒn ə mi /

NOUN

figure of speech

Synonyms

WEAK

adumbration allegory alliteration allusion analogue analogy anaphora anticlimax antistrophe antithesis aposiopesis apostrophe asyndeton bathos comparison conceit device echoism ellipsis euphemism euphuism exaggeration expression flourish flower hyperbole image imagery irony litotes malapropism manner of speaking metaphor onomatopoeia ornament oxymoron parable paradox parallel personification proteron rhetoric sarcasm satire simile stylistic device synecdoche trope tropology turn of phrase understatement way of speaking

NOUN

metaphor

Synonyms

STRONGEST

analogy image symbol

STRONG

allegory emblem hope personification similitude trope

Antonyms

WEAK

plain speech

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Conversation with him quickly soars into rare air: subjectivity and objectivity, metonymy and metaphor.

From New York Times • Oct. 7, 2022

But there are risks in this kind of metonymy — what writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has called “the danger of a single story.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 9, 2018

Every associate is just a metonymy for his terrificness.

From Slate • Dec. 14, 2016

In English it’s unreliable narrator, or ethos, or metonymy, or thesis sentence.

From New York Times • Sep. 7, 2016

A special seal is a very natural metonymy for a special commission.

From Notes to Shakespeare — Volume 01: Comedies by Johnson, Samuel

Vocabulary lists containing metonymy

Poetry: Literary Devices

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Rhetoric

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The AP English Exam: Rhetorical and Literary Terms 4

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