Select the correct figure of speech used in the following sentence from the options given below:-
She accepted it as a kind cruelty of the surgical knife.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → oxymoron
"Kind cruelty" joins kindness and cruelty: the surgeon's knife hurts (cruelty), but it cuts in order to heal (kindness).
| Option | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) assonance | the repetition of the same vowel sound in nearby words. The phrase is built on a contrast of meaning, not of sound. | The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. |
| (2) oxymoron (answer) | An oxymoron puts two words of opposite meaning side by side to express one striking idea. | There was a deafening silence after the announcement. |
| (3) onomatopoeia | the use of words that imitate the sound they name. No word in the sentence imitates a sound. | The bees buzzed in the garden. |
| (4) metonymy | Metonymy uses the name of a thing closely linked with something to stand for it (the crown for the king). "Kind cruelty" names no such substitute. | The pen is mightier than the sword. |