Identify the figure of speech in the following statement from the options given below:
As the waiter brought over our dish, everyone looked at it with curiosity, as it was sizzling loudly.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia:
- Onomatopoeia is the use of a word that imitates the sound of the thing or action it names (buzz, hiss, bang, crackle).
- Deciding clue: the sound word "sizzling".
- In the sentence, "sizzling" copies the hissing sound of food frying on a hot plate.
Example: The bees buzzed around the flowers.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Oxymoron — Incorrect. An oxymoron puts two contradictory words together; the sentence has no such pair.
Example: There was a deafening silence in the hall.
Option 2: Understatement — Incorrect. Understatement makes something sound smaller or less serious than it is; the sentence plays nothing down.
Example: Standing in the blizzard, he said it was a bit chilly.
Option 3: Synecdoche — Incorrect. Synecdoche uses a part for the whole or the whole for a part; nothing in the sentence stands for something larger.
Example: The captain called, "All hands on deck!"
Contrast: onomatopoeia imitates a sound; an oxymoron joins contradictory words, understatement plays something down, and synecdoche uses a part for the whole.