The sentence 'The silence was a killer' is an example of which figure of speech?

• A. Hyperbole
• B. Simile
• C. Metaphor
• D. Personification

Answer: (C)

This sentence uses a direct comparison that treats silence as if it were a killer. That kind of wording is a metaphor: it says silence is a killer, turning the abstract idea of silence into something with the deadly identity of a killer without using like or as. The effect is to loom large and create a vivid image of danger or threat in the absence of sound.

If it were using like or as, or if it gave silence human traits as an action, it would be a simile or personification, but this line makes a straightforward equivalence—silence equals a killer. Hyperbole would push the image to an extreme, which isn’t the primary move here; it’s the direct, figurative identification that marks it as a metaphor.