Identify the figure of speech used in the underlined words.
The doctor’s blunt words were a cruel kindness that finally made my grandfather give up smoking.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Oxymoron
"Cruel" and "kindness" are opposites. The doctor's blunt words hurt the grandfather, so they were cruel. But they made him give up smoking, so they were also a kindness.
| Figure | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Metonymy | uses the name of a thing closely linked to something in place of that thing. A crown, for instance, can stand for a king. "A cruel kindness" does not stand for anything else | These lands belong to the crown. |
| (2) Hyperbole | a big exaggeration for effect. Nothing here is made bigger than it is | I have told you a million times to close the door. |
| (3) Oxymoron (answer) | puts two opposite words together | The house was full of sweet sorrow on the day my sister left for college. |
| (4) Personification | gives human qualities to a thing that is not human. The phrase does not make any object act like a person | The old door groaned when I pushed it open. |