simile

[ sim-uh-lee ]

/ ˈsɪm ə li /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR simile ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in “she is like a rose.”Compare metaphor.

an instance of such a figure of speech or a use of words exemplifying it.

Nearby words

simianization, simic, similar, similarity, similarity transformation, simile, similia similibus curantur, similitude, simionato, simious, simitar

Origin of simile

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: image, likeness, comparison, noun use of neuter of similis similar

Can be confused

metaphor simile

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for simile

To illustrate this relationship, I once used a simile which I will now repeat because I know of no better one as substitute.
A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis|Sigmund Freud
The simile hit the truth so exactly that it was received with a roar of laughter: even Egerton smiled.
My Novel, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
No man could have known better than Mr. Turner that his simile was false and misleading, for he has lived in China for many years.
The Truth about Opium|William H. Brereton
But the simile is weak, for there is a vast difference between an open sleigh and a sleeping-car.
From Paris to New York by Land|Harry de Windt

Then came the following, apparently a simile offered by way of explanation.
Four Weird Tales|Algernon Blackwood

British Dictionary definitions for simile

simile

/ (ˈsɪmɪlɪ) /

noun

a figure of speech that expresses the resemblance of one thing to another of a different category, usually introduced by as or likeCompare metaphor

Word Origin for simile

C14: from Latin simile something similar, from similis like

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

Culture definitions for simile

simile

[ (sim-uh-lee) ]

A common figure of speech that explicitly compares two things usually considered different. Most similes are introduced by like or as: “The realization hit me like a bucket of cold water.” (Compare metaphor.)

Note

Some similes, such as “sleeping like a log,” have become clichés.