Simile comes from the Latin word similis, meaning “similar, like,” which is fitting since the comparison indicated by a simile will usually contain the words as or like.

A simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially dissimilar objects or concepts are expressly compared with one another through the use of “like” or “as.”

13 Beal 2025 · A simile is a literary device that compares two different things using the words like or as. Similes make writing more engaging and relatable by helping readers visualize concepts …

12 Lún 2023 · What is a simile? A simile is a comparison that uses the words “like,” “as,” or “than.” Similes are used to emphasize or exaggerate a specific quality of one thing by comparing it to …

7 Samh 2025 · A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things using words like as or like. It helps make writing more vivid by showing similarities, such as “Her smile was …

28 MFómh 2022 · A simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.” Common similes include the descriptive phrases “cool as a cucumber,” “cold as …

A simile describes something by comparing it to something else, using like or as. A simile is a useful way to describe something without using a long list of adjectives. It can create a vivid...

In English, similes are often made explicit by the word "like", as in "Odysseus is like a weasel", but the comparison in a simile can be made explicit in quite different ways, as in "the retirement of …

12 Beal 2025 · A simile is a figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by "like" or "as."

Here’s a quick and simple definition: A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or …