[sim-uh-lee] 
| 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. |
| sim·i·le (sĭm'ə-lē) n. A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as, as in "How like the winter hath my absence been" or "So are you to my thoughts as food to life" (Shakespeare). [Middle English, from Latin, likeness, comparison, from neuter of similis, like; see similar.] |
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.
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