Oxymoron
Oxymoron is a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.”
Examples:
- "The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep."(attributed to W.C. Fields)
- "That building is a little bit big and pretty ugly." (attributed to James Thurber)
- "I want to die young at a ripe old age."
- (Ashley Montagu, quoted by Mardy Grothe in Oxymoronica, HarperCollins, 2004)
- "I want to die young at a ripe old age." (Ashley Montagu, quoted by Mardy Grothe in Oxymoronica, HarperCollins, 2004)
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement.
Examples:
- “I’ve told you a million times”
- “It was so cold, I saw polar bears wearing jackets”
- I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
- I have a million things to do.
- This car goes faster than the speed of light.
Understatement
Understatement is an expressing with restraint or lack of emphasis, usually used for an ironic' or rhetorical effect.
Examples:
- Saying "We've had a little rain," when the neighborhood is flooded.
- "The desert is sometimes dry and sandy" - While describing the driest desert in the world.
- "Mumbai is not the cheapest place in the world" - instead of saying Mumbai is expensive.
- "It is just a little cool today" - when the temperature outside is 5° below zero.
http://fos.iloveindia.com/understatment-examples.html
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=understatement
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-hyperboles.html
http://grammar.about.com/od/fh/g/hyperboleterm.htm
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples/examples-of-oxymorons.html
http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/oxymoronterm.htm
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oxymoron