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Question

Difficulty: EasyFigurative Use of Language and Connotations

Read the following sentence:

'The witness maintained a deafening silence when questioned by the prosecutor in court.'

Which figure of speech is used in the expression deafening silence?

  1. OxymoronAnswer
  2. B
    Hyperbole
  3. C
    Irony
  4. D
    Personification

Answer

The correct figure of speech is Oxymoron because two opposite terms are placed side by side.
The correct option is Oxymoron because it brings together two contradictory concepts ('deafening' meaning intensely noisy and 'silence' meaning absolute absence of noise) to emphasize the heavy, noticeable quality of the witness's silence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the constituent words of the expression 'deafening silence'.
'Deafening' implies extremely loud noise, whereas 'silence' implies complete absence of sound.
Identifying the literal meanings of the two words reveals their directly opposite nature.
2
Identify the figure of speech that juxtaposes contradictory terms.
Juxtaposing two contradictory terms side-by-side to produce an emphatic or figurative effect defines an oxymoron.
Oxymoron specifically deals with contrasting word pairings placed together in a single phrase.

Key Concept

Oxymoron in Figurative Language
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Topics

Figurative Use of Language and Connotations

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