similesim‧i‧le /ˈsɪməli/ ●○○ noun 
Word Origin
Word OriginWORD ORIGINsimile
ExamplesOrigin:
1300-1400 Latin similis; ➔ SIMILAREXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
Thesaurus- A simile is introduced by a word such as like, as or such.
- Regardless of which you use, metaphors and similes create better documents.
- The poetry of the first four volumes depends heavily on the simile to set the mood of the poem.
- They are expressed in similes, metaphors and stories.
- Think of the torturous metaphors and similes that the readers would be spared.
- This is the metaphor gone beyond hyperbole into simile.
THESAURUStechniques used in language► metaphor
[countable, uncountable] an expression that describes something by comparing it with something else, using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’, for example ‘as white as snow’ → metaphor► see thesaurus at language a way of describing something by referring to it as something different and suggesting that it has similar qualities to that thing: · The beehive is a metaphor for human society.
► simile an expression that describes something by comparing it with something else, using the words as or like, for example ‘as white as snow’: · The poet uses the simile ‘soft like clay’.
► irony the use of words that are the opposite of what you really mean, often in order to be amusing: · ‘I’m so happy to hear that,’ he said, with more than a trace of irony in his voice.
► bathos a sudden change from a subject that is beautiful, moral, or serious to something that is ordinary, silly, or not important: · The play is too sentimental and full of bathos.
► hyperbole a way of describing something by saying that it is much bigger, smaller, worse etc than it actually is – used especially to excite people’s feelings: · In his speeches, he used a lot of hyperbole.· journalistic hyperbole
► alliteration the use of several words together that all begin with the same sound, in order to make a special effect, especially in poetry: · the alliteration of the ‘s’ sound in ‘sweet birds sang softly’
► imagery the use of words to describe ideas or actions in a way that makes the reader connect the ideas with pictures in their mind: · the use of water imagery in Fitzgerald’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’· She uses the imagery of a bird’s song to represent eternal hope.
► rhetorical question a question that you ask as a way of making a statement, without expecting an answer: · When he said ‘how can these attitudes still exist in a civilized society?’, he was asking a rhetorical question.
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