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Descriptive Language

Question

What is an Onomatopoeia?

2 years ago

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215 Replies

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10269 views

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Dolores Haley


215 Answers

Theadora F Profile Picture
Theadora F Verified Sherpa Tutor ✓

University of Oxford BA (first class) tutoring primary to A Level

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.

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Anna S Profile Picture
Anna S Verified Sherpa Tutor ✓

GCSE English Tutor with experience working as an AQA Examiner

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

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Lovely Sarkar

Onomatopoeia is a word in the form of a sound that it is associated with. For example, meow, cuckoo, boom, etc.

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Ginevra D'agostino

Hi dolares! To answer your question simply, Onomatopoeia is when a word is spelt how it sounds; an example would be "cuckoo" or "sizzles". If you'd like a more detailed answer, its when the word format phonetically resembles how it sounds, hope this helps :)

M
Mary Bonett

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

Kirsty H Profile Picture
Kirsty H Verified Sherpa Tutor ✓

English Language and Literature KS3, GCSE and A Level

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.

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Emma Morton

Hi Dolores! The are words that sound as they are spelt. For example, 'boom' or 'meow' are onomatopoeia words because they sound the same when we say them as the noise they are trying to express.

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Princess Nwafor

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.

Simon R Profile Picture
Simon R Verified Sherpa Tutor ✓

Qualified secondary school English teacher. Experienced examiner.

16 reviews

Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the sound it is describing: boom, pop, hiss, for example. As an examiner I see pupils using onomatopoeia a lot in their creative writing essays. I would advise you not to overuse this technique and never use it just to "tick a box". Many pupils believe that if they use every literary method - metaphor, repetition, alliteration, personification etc. - they will gain higher marks. They seldom do as using so many methods just looks clumsy, overused and often irrelevant. Oh, and if you have to use onomatopoeia don't write it in capital letters with lots of exclamation marks after it: only Year 7s should do this.

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Carla Profile Picture
Carla Verified Sherpa Tutor ✓

Inspiring English Teacher with over 10 years of teaching and tutoring

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Onomatopoeia is a word which sounds like the thing it is describing.

E.g The leaves crunched under my footsteps.

E.g Fireworks bang very loudly.



Here are some simple but effective examples:


Snap – tree branches snapping

Whoosh – wind blowing

Whisper – of the wind

Splash - of the sea/waves

Chatter - of the people




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James Kirk

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.






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Reeya Patel

Onomatopoeia is a literary technique used in English. It is when words sounds like the noise that is being described. Examples include: BAM, SPLASH, CRASH, SPLAT.

Lena H Profile Picture
Lena H Verified Sherpa Tutor ✓

A friendly and patient tutor with over 8 years of teaching experience

Onomatopoeia is a figure of speech, or words and phrases, that sound like their meaning. An example is “buzz.” When we picture a bee in our minds, the sound that the bee makes sounds similar to the word for it: “buzz.” Other examples of onomatopoeia include “ding dong” or “boom!”

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Fareeha Faheem

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'


Corina K Profile Picture
Corina K Verified Sherpa Tutor ✓

IELTS Teacher with 20 years experience in all language exams

It is when we form words from how things sound. For example, buzzing from the buzz sound that the bees make.

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