Synonyms
Related Questions

simile

[sim-uh-lee] Origin

sim·i·le

[sim-uh-lee]
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:
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: image, likeness, comparison, noun use of neuter of similis similar

metaphor, simile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Simile

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Simile is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
Collins
World English Dictionary
simile (ˈsɪmɪlɪ)
 
n
Compare metaphor a figure of speech that expresses the resemblance of one thing to another of a different category, usually introduced by as or like
 
[C14: from Latin simile something similar, from similis like]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

simile
1393, from L. simile "a like thing," neuter of similis "like" (see similar). "A simile, to be perfect, must both illustrate and ennoble the subject." [Johnson].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
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 American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT