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metaphor

[ met-uh-fawr, -fer ]

/ ˈmɛt əˌfɔr, -fər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR metaphor ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”Compare mixed metaphor, simile (def. 1).

something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem; symbol.

VIDEO FOR METAPHOR

WATCH NOW: This Or That: Simile vs. Metaphor

Simile vs. metaphor ... it’s the age-old question that none of us can keep straight. So, let’s try looking at it a different way ...

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What does “barren” mean?

a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides.

Worn down by dullness, tedious repetition.

unproductive; unfruitful

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Origin of metaphor

1525–35; <Latin metaphora<Greek metaphorá a transfer, akin to metaphérein to transfer. See meta-, -phore

OTHER WORDS FROM metaphor

met·a·phor·i·cal

[met-uh-fawr-i-kuhl, -for-], /ˌmɛt əˈfɔr ɪ kəl, -ˈfɒr-/, met·a·phor·ic, adjectivemet·a·phor·i·cal·ly, adverbmet·a·phor·i·cal·ness, nounhy·per·met·a·phor·ic, adjective

hy·per·met·a·phor·i·cal, adjectivenon·met·a·phor·ic, adjectivenon·met·a·phor·i·cal, adjectivenon·met·a·phor·i·cal·ly, adverbsem·i·met·a·phor·ic, adjectivesem·i·met·a·phor·i·cal, adjectivesem·i·met·a·phor·i·cal·ly, adverbsub·met·a·phor·ic, adjectivesub·met·a·phor·i·cal, adjectivesub·met·a·phor·i·cal·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH metaphor

metaphor , simile.

Words nearby metaphor

metapelet, metaph., metaphase, metaphase plate, Metaphen, metaphor, metaphosphate, metaphosphoric acid, metaphrase, metaphrast, metaphys.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for metaphor

The scene must be a metaphor for sex, because really who does any of this?
Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’: Hell Hath No Fury Like A Tay-Tay Scorned|Sujay Kumar|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Lepore has a different, though still linear, metaphor for the history of feminism: “a river, wending.”
Wonder Woman’s Creation Story Is Wilder Than You Could Ever Imagine|Tom Arnold-Forster|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To wring all that can be wrung from metaphor, note what our elected and appointed officials are not dressed as.
Election Day Is Scarier Than Halloween|P. J. O’Rourke|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kirkman does dip into metaphor here, as telephones are a symbol of our connection with one another.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero|Regina Lizik|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The Walking Dead, like the monomyth, is a metaphor for human nature and conviction of the spirit.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero|Regina Lizik|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mr. Vacaw's style drew freely on the vast resources of metaphor in which the English language abounds.
A Likely Story|William De Morgan
And surely it is not too strong a metaphor, to call such changes a change from an old world to a new one.
Town Geology|Charles Kingsley
This metaphor is really absurd, and has no application whatever.
The Truth about Opium|William H. Brereton
To take a metaphor from the stage—the curtain falls here on the Governor and the Prison.
The Legacy of Cain|Wilkie Collins
The metaphor is suggested by the incidents connected with the rebuilding.
The Expositor's Bible: The Psalms, Volume III|Alexander Maclaren

British Dictionary definitions for metaphor

metaphor

/ (ˈmɛtəfə, -ˌfɔː) /

noun

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action that it does not literally denote in order to imply a resemblance, for example he is a lion in battleCompare simile

Derived forms of metaphor

metaphoric (ˌmɛtəˈfɒrɪk) or metaphorical, adjectivemetaphorically, adverbmetaphoricalness, noun

Word Origin for metaphor

C16: from Latin, from Greek metaphora, from metapherein to transfer, from meta- + pherein to bear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for metaphor

metaphor

The comparison of one thing to another without the use of like or as: “A man is but a weak reed”; “The road was a ribbon of moonlight.” Metaphors are common in literature and expansive speech. (Compare simile.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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