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definitions

simile

[sim-uh-lee]
See more synonyms for simile on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in “she is like a rose.”Compare metaphor.
  2. an instance of such a figure of speech or a use of words exemplifying it.

Origin of simile

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: image, likeness, comparison, noun use of neuter of similis similar
Can be confusedmetaphor simile
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for simile

similitude, metaphor, analogy

Examples from the Web for simile

Historical Examples of simile

British Dictionary definitions for simile

simile

noun
  1. 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
Word Origin and History for simile
n.

late 14c., from Latin simile "a like thing; a comparison, likeness, parallel," neuter of similis "like" (see similar). Both things must be mentioned and the comparison directly stated. To Johnson, "A simile, to be perfect, must both illustrate and ennoble the subject."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
simile in Culture

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.
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.