simile
Comparison using "as"
A simile is a figure of speech comparing two different things using "like" or "as": Her eyes sparkled like diamonds, He ran as fast as the wind.
The explicit comparison marker distinguishes simile from metaphor, which states the comparison directly.
Similes appear constantly in everyday speech: sleep like a baby, clear as mud, spread like wildfire.
Comparable to, or enjoy
- asComparison word
- thanComparative conjunction
- resemblesAppears similar to
- as ifSuggesting something hypothetical
as though · approximating · paralleling · mirroring · echoing
Implied identity comparison
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- personificationAttributing humanity to non-humans
- imageryVivid descriptive language
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
hyperbole · analogy · allusion · irony · oxymoron · metonymy · synecdoche · litotes
Explanatory likeness between things
- likenessVisual similarity or representation
- resemblanceLikeness between things
- parallelEquidistant at all points
- equivalenceState of being equal
correspondence · affinity · correlation · counterpart · match · mirror · echo · reflection
Idiom for tireless activity
- blind as a batExtremely poor-sighted
- cold as iceExtremely unfeeling or aloof
- brave as a lionExceptionally courageous comparison
- light as a featherNearly without mass
quick as lightning · solid as a rock · sharp as a tack · quiet as a mouse · cool as a cucumber · sweet as honey · clear as crystal · fit as a fiddle
like
Comparable to, or enjoy
as if · as though · approximating · paralleling · mirroring · echoing
metaphor
Implied identity comparison
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- personificationAttributing humanity to non-humans
- imageryVivid descriptive language
symbolism · hyperbole · analogy · allusion · irony · oxymoron · metonymy · synecdoche · litotes · apostrophe
analogy
Explanatory likeness between things
- likenessVisual similarity or representation
- resemblanceLikeness between things
- parallelEquidistant at all points
equivalence · correspondence · affinity · correlation · counterpart · match · mirror · echo · reflection · parity
busy as a bee
Idiom for tireless activity
- blind as a batExtremely poor-sighted
- cold as iceExtremely unfeeling or aloof
- brave as a lionExceptionally courageous comparison
light as a feather · quick as lightning · solid as a rock · sharp as a tack · quiet as a mouse · cool as a cucumber · sweet as honey · clear as crystal · fit as a fiddle · free as a bird
- vocabularyword, words, new words, term, terms
- poetrypoem, poems, poetry, verse, verses
- comparisonscomparison, compare, comparative, analogy, metaphor
- figuresfigure of speech, figure, trope, metaphor, hyperbole
- literary devicesmetaphor, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia
- Literature Studiesliterary analysis, literary theory, close reading, literary canon, literary movements
similemetaphor
Implied identity comparison
dead metaphor · personification · metonymy · synecdoche · allegory
similecontrast
Notable difference between things
dissimilarity · antithesis · distinction · juxtaposition · differentiation
- similar toResembling in nature
- similar to me
- similar trianglesShapes with equal corresponding angles
- epic simileElaborate extended comparison in verse
similar, similarity, similarly, assimilate, dissimilar, assimilation, similarities, dissimilarity, assimilated