What is an Onomatopoeia?

Hello Dolores. Onomatopoeia is what we call a literary device. This means it is a choice of word or phrase that a writer uses so that the reader can 'picture' something in more detail.

An onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like the noise it makes. You could say for example:

I stood on the twig and it broke.

This is a very simple sentence and everybody understands it but if we use the word "CRACKED" instead of "broke" by saying the word 'cracked', which is an onomatopoeia, we actually hear the noise of the twig breaking because the hard C/K sound replicates the noise of the twig breaking and we not only picture the twig breaking but we hear it too.

Words that appeal to the reader's sense of sound- words that sound the same as they are written eg. zap, pow, ssssh, hiss, bizz, boom, bang, snap, crack, fizz, pop

the naming of a thing or action by imitation of natural sounds (as "buzz" or "hiss") : the use of words whose sound suggests the sense (as for poetic effect)

Bang! Crash! Thud! Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it means.

1. the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle ).
2. "a relatively large number of bird names arise by onomatopoeia"

• the use of onomatopoeia for literary effect.
• "the language in her picture books is notable for its playfulness and onomatopoeia"

A word that makes the sound it is describing like whoosh or POW!

An onomatopoeia is the naming od a thing or action by imitation of the sound, For example boom to demonstrate a loud sound.

Hi there Dolores, the word Onomatopoeia sounds complicated but the definition is simple.

It is often used for literary effect and they usually phonetically imitate the word they say. For example, screech is pronounced the exact same way as it is read aloud. An example of this used in a sentence is: The pigs oink as they rolled in the mud. Here it would be ‘oink’ that would make this sentence use Onomatopoeia.

Hi Dolores, onomatopoeia are words that produce sounds. For example, 'boom', 'bang', 'crash'. Onomatopoeia is excellent for creating sound imagery so that your reader can easily imagine the sounds in a description or narrative.

Onomatopoeia is when words are used to mimic sounds. For example, the word "moo" is onomatopoeia for the sound a cow makes.

Onomatopoeia is a word that describes phonetically that which it is referencing. For example "BANG" "Swoosh" or "Tick Tock" of a clock.

Onomatopoeias are words that look like the sound they make. You see this a lot in comics with words like bang, boom, zoom or zap.

Onomatopoeia is when a word sounds like what it names or represents. For example, words like "boing", "clap" or "cuckoo" are all onomatopoeic vocabulary. As a literary or artistic choice, onomatopoeia can create a sense of vividness and immediacy, adding a textural dimension to writing through a conscious and playful patterning of sound.

Onomatopoeia is a form of literary device or language technique in which a word vocally imitates the sound it is describing. For example, hiss, bang, crash.

Onomatopoeia is when a word describes a sound and actually mimics the sound of the object or action it refers to when it is spoken. Examples of this would be...

Sounds an animal makes - how a dog may 'bark' or a snake 'hisses'

Sounds people make - 'clap' or 'giggle'

Sounds things make - 'fizzle' and 'poof'