simile
[ sim-uh-lee ]
/ ˈsɪm ə li /
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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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If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.
Question 1 of 10
Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?
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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, simileDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use simile in a sentence
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.