noun

simile

/ˈsɪməli/ · say it: SIM·uh·lee

a comparison using 'like' or 'as'

In more detail

a comparison between two different things using "like" or "as"; a figure of speech that shows how two things are similar in some way

Examples

"Her smile was like sunshine" is a simile because it compares a smile to sunshine using the word "like".

How to use simile

A simile is a rhetorical device that explicitly compares two unlike things using 'like' or 'as' (e.g., 'brave as a lion' or 'the world like an oyster'). It differs from metaphor in being explicit rather than implicit about the comparison. Similes are common in both literature and everyday speech, and they are often used to clarify or intensify meaning.

Common phrases

draw a simile
use a simile
apt simile
striking simile
literary simile
simile for

Synonyms

comparison · analogy · metaphorical comparison · likeness

Word family

similitude

A common mistake

Students sometimes confuse simile with metaphor, or assume that any comparison using 'like' is a simile when it may be a direct comparison rather than a figurative one.

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