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simile

[ sim-uh-lee ]

/ ˈsɪm ə li /

See synonyms for: simile / similes 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.

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Origin of simile

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH simile

metaphor, simile

Words nearby simile

simian virus 40, Simic, similar, similarity, similarity transformation, simile, similia similibus curantur, similitude, Simionato, simious, simitar

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences 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

Cultural 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.)

notes for simile

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

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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