similes

plural of simile
as in metaphors
grammar a phrase that uses the words like or as to describe someone or something by comparing it with someone or something else that is similar "She's as fierce as a tiger" is a simile, but "She's a tiger when she's angry" is a metaphor.

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of similes Salazar-Thompson’s witty script — packed with hilarious metaphors and similes (like comparing a woman’s firm grip on her purse to that of a two-toed sloth on a branch) — make for a consistently amusing trip back in time. — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for similes
metaphors
Noun
  • Lee’s wordless metaphors urge us to consider something at the margins of language, logic, and experience.
    — Barry Schwabsky, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Throughout, the movie’s deeply affecting realism feels also like symbolism—an existential crisis without any of its arch markers, a world of metaphors without referents, both universal and blank.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Similes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/similes. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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