Metaphor & Simile

Metaphor and simile are quite different, but are commonly confused simply because they are so very similar in nature.

METAPHOR

Metaphor is the concept of understanding one thing in terms of another. A metaphor is a figure of speech that constructs an analogy between two things or ideas; the analogy is conveyed by the use of a metaphorical word in place of some other word. For example: "Her eyes were glistening jewels".

Metaphor also denotes rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via association, comparison or resemblance (e.g., antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy and simile, which are all types of metaphor).


SIMILE

A simile is a figure of speech that says that one thing is like another different thing. We can use similes to make descriptions more emphatic or vivid.

We often use the words as...as and like with similes.

Common patterns for similes, with example sentences, are:

• something [is*] AS adjective AS something
  His skin was as cold as ice.
  It felt as hard as rock.
  She looked as gentle as a lamb.
  
  
• something [is*] LIKE something
  My love is like a red, red rose.
  These cookies taste like garbage.
  He had a temper (that was) like a volcano.
  
  
• something [does**] LIKE something
  He eats like a pig.
  He smokes like a chimney.
  They fought like cats and dogs.