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A simile (/ ˈ s ɪ m əl i /) is a type of figure of speech that directly compares two things. [1] [2] Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", while metaphors often create an implicit comparison (i.e. saying something "is" something else).
Like is one of the words in the English language that can introduce a simile (a stylistic device comparing two dissimilar ideas). It can be used as a preposition, as in "He runs like a cheetah"; it can also be used as a suffix, as in "She acts very child-like ".
The easiest stylistic device to identify is a simile, signaled by the use of the words "like" or "as". A simile is a comparison used to attract the reader's attention and describe something in descriptive terms. Example: "From up here on the fourteenth floor, my brother Charley looks like an insect scurrying among other insects." (from "Sweet ...
Simile: comparison between two things using like or as. Snowclone: alteration of cliché or phrasal template. Syllepsis: the use of a word in its figurative and literal sense at the same time or a single word used in relation to two other parts of a sentence although the word grammatically or logically applies to only one.
A common intended effect of figurative language is to elicit audience responses that are more emotional (like excitement, shock, laughter, etc.), aesthetic, or intellectual. Literal usage confers meaning to words, in the sense of the meaning words have by themselves, [4] for example as defined in a dictionary.
[14] An example of mixed metaphor in print. Metaphors are most frequently compared with similes. A metaphor asserts the objects in the comparison are identical on the point of comparison, while a simile merely asserts a similarity through use of words such as like or as.
Homeric simile, also called an epic simile, is a detailed comparison in the form of a simile that is many lines in length. The word "Homeric", is based on the Greek author, Homer, who composed the two famous Greek epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Many authors continue to use this type of simile in their writings although it is usually found in ...
Ship of state: the nautical metaphors of Thomas Jefferson : with numerous examples by other writers from classical antiquity to the present. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. ISBN 978-0-7618-2516-6. Milligan, Christopher S.; Smith, David C. (1997). "Language from the Sea: Discovering the Meaning and Origin of Nautical Metaphors".