Which term describes language that gives human characteristics to nonhuman or inanimate things?

Which term describes language that gives human characteristics to nonhuman or inanimate things?

• A. Simile
• B. Personification
• C. Prefix
• D. Root word

Answer: (B)

Personification is a figure of speech that gives human qualities to things that aren’t human. By attributing actions, emotions, or motives to objects, animals, or ideas, writers make them feel alive and relatable. This is why it’s the right description here: it shows how something nonhuman can be described as if it could think or feel like a person—for example, “The wind whispered through the trees” or “The chair sighed under the weight.” A simile, on the other hand, makes a comparison using like or as (such as “bright as the sun”) but doesn’t endow the nonhuman thing with human traits. Prefix and root word are linguistic terms: a prefix is a beginning piece that changes a word’s meaning, and the root word is the base form of a word. Neither involves giving human characteristics to nonhuman things.

Personification is a figure of speech that gives human qualities to things that aren’t human. By attributing actions, emotions, or motives to objects, animals, or ideas, writers make them feel alive and relatable. This is why it’s the right description here: it shows how something nonhuman can be described as if it could think or feel like a person—for example, “The wind whispered through the trees” or “The chair sighed under the weight.”

A simile, on the other hand, makes a comparison using like or as (such as “bright as the sun”) but doesn’t endow the nonhuman thing with human traits. Prefix and root word are linguistic terms: a prefix is a beginning piece that changes a word’s meaning, and the root word is the base form of a word. Neither involves giving human characteristics to nonhuman things.