A figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another, in the case of English generally using like or as. An example by Irina Dunn (1970): “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”
/ an explicit comparison between two things using 'like' or 'as' *My love is as a fever, longing still For that which longer nurseth the disease, Shakespeare, Sonnet XLVII *Reason is to faith as the eye to the telescope D Hume [?] *Let us go then, you and I, While the evening is spread out against the sky, Like a patient etherized upon a table T S Eliot, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock (A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples, Ross Scaife)
an explicit comparison between two things using the word like or as See also: metaphor
(See 274) A direct comparison statement using the word like or as A direct comparison statement using the word like or as
a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with `like' or `as')
A figure of speech comparing two unlike things by using the words like or as Ex Joe was nervous and paced the room like a caged lion This load of bread is as hard as a rock
An explicit comparison between two objects, situations, etc Similes generally involve the use of the words "like" or "as" in establishing the given comparison
A direct comparison between two things essentially unlike each other, but resembling each other in at least one way, usually using the words like or as
Comparison between two different things, introduced by the words "like "or "as" eg Burns' "O my love is like a red, red rose"
A word or phrase by which anything is likened, in one or more of its aspects, to something else; a similitude; a poetical or imaginative comparison
a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared using the words like and as (e g , The moon is like a balloon )
a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another, generally using like or as
a comparison between two things, using "like" or "as " Malachi speaks of the Lord as "like the refiner's fire" (3, 2) and the Psalms say the soul longs for God " as the hind longs for the running waters" (42, 1) See metaphor
- a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two things by using words such as like, as, than, appears, and seems The effectiveness of the simile is created by the differences between the two things compared, and it is the job of the simile itself to suggest the important ways in which the two are similar
A simile is an expression which describes a person or thing as being similar to someone or something else. For example, the sentences `She runs like a deer' and `He's as white as a sheet' contain similes. an expression that describes something by comparing it with something else, using the words 'as' or 'like', for example 'as white as snow' metaphor (similis; SIMILAR). Figure of speech involving a comparison between two unlike entities. In a simile, unlike a metaphor, the resemblance is indicated by the words "like" or "as." Similes in everyday speech reflect simple comparisons, as in "He eats like a bird" or "She is slow as molasses." Similes in literature may be specific and direct or more lengthy and complex. The Homeric, or epic, simile, which is typically used in epic poetry, often extends to several lines
a direct, explicit comparison of one thing to another, usually using the words like or as to draw the connection See metaphor Close Window
A figure of speech in which an explicit comparison is made between two essentially unlike things, usually using like, as or than, as in Burns', "O, my luve's like A Red, Red Rose" or Shelley's "As still as a brooding dove," in "The Cloud " Sidelight: Similes in which the parallel is developed and extended beyond the initial comparison, often being sustained through several lines, are called epic or Homeric similes, since they occur frequently in epic poetry, both for ornamentation and to heighten the heroic aspect (Compare Analogy, Metaphor, Symbol, Synecdoche)
{i} instance in which two dissimilar items are compared using the words "like" or "as
Figurative language in which two seemingly unlike things are explicitly compared to yield another meaning by using like, as, as if, or so
A way of describing things by comparing them with other things using "as" or "like" See Exploring Language, page 54
A phrase or expression using 'like' or 'as' to compare two unlike objects or ideas to each other Examples include, "cheeks like roses"; "as hard as nails"; and "as bright as a button"
A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word like or as An example of a simile using like occurs in Langston Hughes's poem Harlem: What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ like a raisin in the sun?
() First attested 1393, from Latin simile ("comparison, likeness", "parallel"), originally from simile the neuter form of similis ("like, similar, resembling"). Confer the English similar.