examples of similes
Examples of Similes
One of the first figures of speech we learn is a simile. The easiest to understand and use, the simile can be a great literary tool when you want to emphasize direct comparison with simple words. Here are a few examples that will show you how.
Did You Know?
As opposed to common belief, a simile doesn't necessarily have to have the words 'as' and 'like'."She dealt with moral problems as a cleaver deals with meat."
- James Joyce, 'The Boarding House'
"So are you to my thoughts as food to life..."
- William Shakespeare, Sonnet 75
"Listening to your beautiful voice everyday is as effective as having the same food for all my meals."
- Neha Joshi
Watching the movie was as good as (or 'like') watching a snail cross the road.
Looking at all the wonderful cuisines listed in the menu, he felt as hungry as a lion.
She isn't as beautiful as her mother was in her youth.
Comparison using 'like'
"Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it."
- Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember
Here, the author has directly compared love's quality of invisibility to that of the wind. Otherwise, there is nothing common as such between the two.
Some More Examples
"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"
- Mark Twain
"Insanity hovered close at hand, like an eager waiter at an expensive restaurant."
- Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things
"Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through."
- Jonathan Swift
"A good speech should be like a woman's skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest"
- Winston Churchill
"Like a lamp, dispelling the darkness of ignorance."
- Dalai Lama XIV
"Having you by my side has given me the strength like that of the Hulk."
- Neha Joshi
Comparison Without 'as' and 'like'
Sometimes comparison is made without the usage of the words 'as' and 'like'. In certain cases, a simile is used for directly comparing two fundamentally different things/qualities without the use of these words, as follows:-
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate."
- William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18
A simile is thus, the simplest figure of speech. Using it in the right places, makes a piece of language less drab to read. You can thus, use a simile to make a simple text very interesting.