simile

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(sĭm'ə-lē) pronunciation
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.]



is a figure of speech consisting of a direct comparison using a construction with as...as..., or with the first as omitted:
Soft as rain slipping through rushes, the cattle came—Edmund Blunden.
Some similes belong to a stock type, e.g. (as) drunk as a lord, (as) fit as a fiddle, etc. See also metaphor and simile. Others are constructed with like, e.g. Her skin is like honey.

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Figure of speech involving a comparison between two unlike entities. In a simile, unlike a metaphor, the resemblance is indicated by the words like or as. Similes in everyday speech reflect simple comparisons, as in He eats like a bird or She is slow as molasses. Similes in literature may be specific and direct or more lengthy and complex. The Homeric, or epic, simile, which is typically used in epic poetry, often extends to several lines.

For more information on simile, visit Britannica.com.

(It.)

‘Like’, ‘similar’: a word used to mean ‘play as before’ (used particularly if repeating the notation of intricate phrasing etc would clutter a score).



simile [sim‐ĭ‐li], an explicit comparison between two different things, actions, or feelings, using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’, as in Wordsworth's line:

I wandered lonely as a cloud
A very common figure of speech in both prose and verse, simile is more tentative and decorative than metaphor. A lengthy and more elaborate kind of simile, used as a digression in a narrative work, is the epic simile.

simile (sĭm'əlē) [Lat.,=likeness], in rhetoric, a figure of speech in which an object is explicitly compared to another object. Robert Burns's poem "A Red Red Rose" contains two straightforward similes:

My love is like a red, red rose That's newly sprung in June:My love is like the melody That's sweetly played in tune.

The epic, or Homeric, simile is an elaborate, formal, and sustained simile derived from those of Homer.


(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.)

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

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    A figure of speech in which an explicit comparison is made between two essentially unlike things, usually using like, as or than.

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    pronunciation

    IN BRIEF: A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared.

    pronunciation The saying, My love is like a red, red rose, is a simile.

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    Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
    For a list of words related to simile, see:

      See crossword solutions for the clue Simile.

    A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like" or "as".[1]

    Unlike a metaphor, a simile can be as precise as the user needs it to be, to explicitly predicate a single feature of a target or to vaguely predicate an under-determined and open-ended body of features. Empirical research supports the observation that similes are more likely to be used with explicit explanations of their intended meaning;[2] this offers some support to the claim that similes are preferred if a user wants to associate an unusual or out-of-the-ordinary property with a target.[clarification needed]

    Contents

    Uses

    In literature

    Similes are widely used in literature for their expressive nature:

    • Curley was flopping like a fish on a line.[3]
    • The very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric.[4]
    • Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus.[5]

    Dickens, in the opening to 'A Christmas Carol', says "But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile."

    Using 'like'

    A simile can explicitly provide the basis of a comparison or leave this basis implicit. In the implicit case, characterized by the use of 'like' to connect the two ideas, the simile leaves an audience to determine for themselves which features of the target are being predicated:

    • She is like a dynamo.
    • For He is like a refiner's fire.
    • Her eyes twinkled like stars
    • He fights like a lion.
    • He runs like a cheetah.

    Using 'as'

    The use of as makes the simile explicit, by clearly stating the feature predicated of the target:

    • She walks as gracefully as a cat.
    • He was as brave as a lion in fight.
    • He was as tough as a bull.
    • He was as smart as an owl.
    • She was as busy as a bee.
    • He was as Cool as Conan

    Without 'like' or 'as'

    Similes are sometimes made without using the words "like" or "as". This often occurs when making comparisons of differing values:[6]

    See also

    References


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    Dansk (Danish)
    n. - simili, sammenligning, lignelse

    Nederlands (Dutch)
    vergelijking, overeenkomst

    Français (French)
    n. - comparaison

    Deutsch (German)
    n. - Vergleich

    Ελληνική (Greek)
    n. - παρομοίωση

    Italiano (Italian)
    similitudine

    Português (Portuguese)
    n. - comparação (f)

    Русский (Russian)
    сравнение

    Español (Spanish)
    n. - símil

    Svenska (Swedish)
    n. - liknelse

    中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
    直喻, 明喻

    中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
    n. - 直喻, 明喻

    한국어 (Korean)
    n. - 직유 표현, 명유

    日本語 (Japanese)
    n. - 直喩
    adv. - 同様に

    العربيه (Arabic)
    ‏(الاسم) ألتشبيه في علم ألبلاغه‏

    עברית (Hebrew)
    n. - ‮דימוי‬


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