1. Simile 明喻
明喻是將具有共性的不同事物作對比。這種共性存在於人們的心裡，而不是事物的自然屬性。
標誌詞常用 like, as, seem, as if, as though, similar to, such as等。
例如：
1). He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow.
2). I wandered lonely as a cloud.
3). Einstein only had a blanket on, as if he had just walked out of a fairy tale.
2. Metaphor 隱喻，暗喻
隱喻是簡縮了的明喻，是將某一事物的名稱用於另一事物，通過比較形成。
例如：
1). Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.
2). Some books are to be tasted, others swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.
3. Metonymy 借喻，轉喻
借喻不直接說出所要說的事物，而使用另一個與之相關的事物名稱。
I、以容器代替內容，例如：
1).The kettle boils.
水開了。
2).The room sat silent.
全屋人安靜地坐著。
II、以資料、工具代替事物的名稱，例如：
Lend me your ears, please.
請聽我說。
III、以作者代替作品，例如：
a complete Shakespeare 莎士比亞全集
IV、以具體事物代替抽象概念，例如：
I had the muscle, and they made money out of it.
我有力氣，他們就用我的力氣賺錢。
4. Synecdoche 提喻
提喻用部分代替全體，或用全體代替部分，或特殊代替一般。
例如：
1). There are about 100 hands working in his factory.
(部分代整體)他的廠裡約有100名工人。
2). He is the Newton of this century.
(特殊代一般)他是本世紀的牛頓。
3). The fox goes very well with your cap.
(整體代部分)這狐皮圍脖與你的帽子很相配。
5. Synaesthesia 通感，聯覺，移覺
這種修辭法是以視、聽、觸、嗅、味等感覺直接描寫事物。通感就是把不同感官的感覺溝通起來，借聯想引起感覺轉移，「以感覺寫感覺」。
例如：
1）The birds sat upon a tree and poured forth their lily like voice.
(用視覺形容聽覺，鳥落在樹上，由它發出的聲音聯想到百合花)
鳥兒落在樹上，傾瀉出百合花似的聲音。
2）Taste the music of Mozart.
(用嗅覺形容聽覺)品嘗Mozart的音樂。
6. Personification 擬人
擬人是把生命賦予無生命的事物。
例如：
1）The night gently lays her hand at our fevered heads.
(把夜擬人化)
2）I was very happy and could hear the birds singing in the woods.
(把鳥擬人化)
7. Hyperbole 誇張
誇張是以言過其實的說法表達強調的目的。它可以加強語勢，增加表達效果。
例如：
1）I beg a thousand pardons.
2）Love you. You are the whole world to me, and the moon and the stars.
3）When she heard the bad news, a river of tears poured out.
8. Parallelism 排比，平行
這種修辭法是把兩個或兩個以上的結構大體相同或相似，意思相關，語氣一致的短語。句子排列成串，形成一個整體。
例如：
1）No one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; no one can be perfectly happy till all are happy.
2）In the days when all these things are to be answered for, I summon you and yours, to the last of your bad race, to answer for them. In the days when all these things are to be answered for, I summon your brother, the worst of your bad race, to answer for them separately.
9. Euphemism 委婉，婉辭法
婉辭法指用委婉，文雅的方法表達粗惡，避諱的話。
例如：
1）He is out visiting the necessary. 他出去方便一下。
2）His relation with his wife has not been fortunate. 他與妻子關係不融洽。
3）My mother passed away in 1997. (去世)