Glossary

adjective

a word that describes (or 'modifies') a noun; grammatically speaking, the part of speech that includes these words

attributive adjective

an adjective that comes directly before the noun that it modifies, as opposed to a predicative adjective, which comes after a linking verb

cognitive framing

the use of a familiar perspective or narrative to make sense of and evaluate new information

competing metaphors

conceptual metaphors used by opposing sides of an issue or argument that may produce cognitive dissonance when juxtaposed

conceptual metaphor theory

the theory that metaphors are fundamental to how humans conceptualize the world and their existence in it

connotation

an association or suggestion of a word or idea

denotation

the literal or actual meaning of a word

depth of metaphor

refers to whether a metaphor is obviously stated (shallow) or if it points to a deeper understanding (deep)

figurative meaning

the symbolic or metaphorical sense of a word, as opposed to its literal or denotative sense

ideology

a system of ideas and ideals about how the world is and how it should be, e.g. liberalism, conservatism, socialism, capitalism, colonialism, etc.

linking verb

a verb like 'be', 'become', 'seem', 'appear', 'smell', 'taste', etc. that is followed by a subject complement

literal meaning

the most obvious, concrete, or actual sense of a word

metaphor

a rhetorical device that enables us to connect two disparate words, concepts or things together such that some sort of transference of qualities or activity takes place from one to the other

noun

a word that is a person, place, thing, or concept;  grammatically speaking, the part of speech comprised of these words

originality of metaphor

refers to whether a metaphor is newly invented by a user or is conventionally understood

ornamental view of metaphors

the view that metaphors are extra, superfluous, or not fundamental

propaganda

Information that deliberately promotes a particular perspective, regardless of its veracity.

scale of metaphor

the size of what a metaphor refers to -- from a single situation (small) to a larger, broader phenomenon (large)

subject

Linguistically speaking, a subject is the actor, doer, or primary noun or pronoun of a clause. In English it comes first.

subject complement

a word or phrase that comes after a linking verb (e.g. 'is') that describes, or is equatable, to the subject

transitive verb

a verb that requires or takes an object, like most uses of 'eat', 'speak', or 'see'

verb

a words that describe an action, state, or occurrence; grammatically speaking, the part of speech comprised of these words

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Metaphor: A Language Power Technique Copyright © 2023 by Anuj Gupta, Jonathon Reinhardt, Robert Poole is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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