Define Onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia is one of the most difficult words you will ever have to spell. Split it into sections like this: ono-mato-poeia. Onomatopoeia are words that imitate sounds, sensations or textures. Some common examples are bang, crash, prickly, whack, thump, squishy, crack, thud, clunk, whoosh, and plop.
Words used for onomatopoeia are called onomatopoeic words. Onomatopoeic words are often shorter and less grammatically structured than other words with similar meanings.
For Example
Split sounds like cutting something in two violently, but separate, which has the same dictionary meaning, does not convey this.
More Examples
Crack is what happens when a ball hits a window. Tear is the sound you make when you pull a piece of paper apart with the fingers of both hands. Split is the sound you make when you chop a piece of wood in two with an axe.
Onomatopoeia Example
The jet zoomed across the sky.
Read this sentence that shows what running water sounds like.
The rainwater gurgled down the drainpipe and bubbled over the sidewalk.
A. Choose the right onomatopoeic word in each sentence.
- Little Bella loves squelching/squeaking/squashing through mud after a rainy day. _______________________________________________________________________________
- The children ran into the sea and screamed with delight as they slipped/sloshed/splashed each other with cold water. _______________________________________________________________________________
- Can you hear the howling/cracking/flapping of the wind on a stormy night? _______________________________________________________________________________
- The waves roared/slapped/hooted against the side of our boat as we sped through the water. _______________________________________________________________________________
- The twittering/screeching/lapping of the seagulls woke me up on my first day at the seaside. _______________________________________________________________________________
- Have you ever tried smacking/skimming/sliding stones over the lake? _______________________________________________________________________________
B. Read each sentence and write the correct type of figurative language in the space provided.
| Hyperbole | Onomatopoeia | Alliteration | Idioms |
- I have a million things to do this week. _____________
- He could hear the zip of her suitcase closing from the other room. _____________
- The babble of babies brings joy to my ears. _____________
- That’s the last straw. _____________
- I love the sound of bacon sizzling on a weekend. _____________
- As Ali got closer, the dog began growling. _____________
- I had to wait in the station for ten days—an eternity. _____________
- Daisy danced during December downpours. _____________
- John will cry if you pop his balloon. _____________
- Hit the nail on the head. _____________