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Literature vocabulary · Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Simile

Meaning in literature, with examples

/ˈsɪməli/nounCore term

In literature, simile means: A figure of speech that compares two different things directly, usually with the words 'like' or 'as', for example 'as cold as ice'.

In Turkish: benzetme, teşbih

How it is used

Usually taught together with metaphor. Critics point out a vivid, striking or surprising simile and explain what the comparison adds. Many everyday phrases are fixed similes: as busy as a bee, sleep like a log.

Example sentences

  1. The writer uses a simile to compare the old man's hands to dry leaves.

  2. Is 'her voice was like broken glass' a simile or a metaphor?

Common collocations

  • use a simile
  • vivid simile
  • extended simile
  • simile and metaphor
  • metaphorA figure of speech that describes one thing as if it were something else, without using 'like' or 'as', to show a hidden similarity.
  • figure of speechA use of words in a non-literal or unusual way to create a special effect or meaning, such as a metaphor, simile, hyperbole or personification.
  • imageryDescriptive language that appeals to the senses, such as sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, so that readers can picture or feel what is described.
  • hyperboleA figure of speech that uses deliberate, obvious exaggeration for emphasis or humor, as in 'I've told you a million times'.

More terms: Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Practise with graded reading

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