Similes and Metaphors Examples

What are similes and metaphors? Is there a difference between the two figures of speech? The answer is, "Yes, there is a noticeable contrast between similes and metaphors." To understand in plain and simple terms, a simile is any word or phrase used to describe some thing or someone as similar to another. These similarities are often not related to one another. As for the other figure of speech, a metaphor is any word or phrase which states that one thing or person is another.

These similarities are often not related to one another. With this little contradiction in their definitions, let's take a look at some of their examples. This way, you can get a better idea about what similes and metaphors are. But before that, always remember these main points about similes and metaphors:

• Similes constantly make comparisons using the words "like" and "as".
• Metaphors constantly make symbolic and direct comparisons between two objects.
• Both similes and metaphors can be used in English language, literature, poetry, and music.

Simile Examples in Poetry

Life's Pearl of Wisdom
Here and there in oysters fall,
A single grain of sand.
Producing later a lustrous ball,
In a fisher man's hand... ~ Michael P. Johnson

Moon Poetess
Hands flicker, the smokes hurries
And insignia like ice blows in appearance
So seated and commanding twisting joints.
Powers, so she use and sleep... ~ Ebi Robert

Role Model
A role model is someone
Whom you always want to be.
Someone who gives you hope
When you are down... ~ Kholekile Monakali

Simile Examples in Literature

My love is like a red, red rose, that is newly sprung in June. ~ Robert Burns

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. ~ Shakespeare

Helen, thy beauty is to me
Like those Nicean barks of yore... ~ Poe

Like a skein of loose silk blown against a wall
She walks by the railing of a path in Kensington Gardens... ~ Ezra Pound

The Mind like to a Shop of Toies I fill,
With fine Conceits, all sorts of Humours sell.
I can the work of Nature imitate;
And change my self into each several shape.
I conquer all, am Master of the field,
I make fare Beauty in Loves Wars to yield. ~ Cavendish

As virtuous men pass mildly away,
and whisper to their souls to go,
whilst some of their sad friends do say,
"Now his breath goes," and some say, "No". ~ Donne

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. ~ Shakespeare

Simile Examples for Kids

As friendly as a black lab	As happy as a rat with a gold tooth
As sleepy as a bear	As hard as nails
As tall as a Sequoia tree	As hard as rock
As pink as a flamingo	As high as a kite
As brave as a lion	As hoarse as a crow
As brown as a berry	As hot as a fire cracker
As quiet as a mouse	As hot as hell
As sharp as a razor	As hungry as a bear
As fat as the Pentagon	As hungry as a wolf
As slow as a snail	As innocent as a lamb
As fast as a cheetah	As keen as mustard
As annoying as a pesky bug	As large as life
As silly as a clown	As light as a feather
As hot as the sun	As light as air
As hot as the Sahara Desert	As likely as not
As musical as a hummingbird	As loud as a lion
As fat as a blown up blue balloon	As lowly as a worm
As mad as a hatter	As stubborn as an untrained dog; or as a mule
As mad as a hornet	As loud as my brother who is always screaming
As smart as Albert Einstein	As mad as the march hare
My love is like a red, red rose	As naked as a baby
They fought like cats and dogs	As neat as a pin
He is as funny as a barrel of monkeys	As nutty as a fruitcake
This house is as clean as a whistle	As obstinate as a mule
He is as strong as an ox	As old as dirt
Your explanation is as clear as mud	As old as the hills
Watching the show was like watching grass grow	As pale as death
That is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel	As pale as a ghost
This contract is as solid as the ground we stand on	As patient as job
That guy is as nutty as a fruitcake	As plain as day
Don't just sit there like a bump on a log	As pleased as punch
They are as different as night and day	As poor as a church mouse
She is as thin as a toothpick	As poor as dirt
Last night, I slept like a log	As pretty as a picture
This dress is perfect because it fits like a glove	As proud as a peacock
My love for you is a deep as the ocean	As pure as snow
I am so thirsty, that my throat is as dry as a bone	As pure as the driven snow
As agile as a monkey	As quick as a wink
As alike as two peas in a pod	As quick as lightning
As annoying as nails scratching against a chalkboard	As quick as silver
As bald as a baby's backside	As rich as gold
As bald as a badger	As right as rain
As bald as a coot	As round as a barrel
As beautiful as nature	As round as a circle
As big as a boat	As round as a sphere
As big as a bus	As safe as houses
As big as an elephant	As scarce as hen's teeth
As black as coal	As sensitive as a flower
As blind as a bat	As sharp as a needle
As blind as a mole	As sick as a dog
As bold as brass	As sick as a parrt
As bright as a button	As silent as the dead
As bright as a new pin	As silent as the grave
As bright as day	As silly as a goose
As bright as the sun	As sleepy as a koala
As busy as a beaver	As slippery as an eel
As busy as a bee	As slow as molasses
As busy as a cat on a hot tin roof	As slow as a tortoise
As calm as a millpond	As slow as a turtle
As clear as a bell	As slow as a wet weekend
As clean as a hound's tooth	As sly as a fox
As clean as a whistle	As smart as an owl
As clear as crystal	As smooth as silk
As cold as ice	As snug as a bug in a rug
As common as dirt	As sober as a judge
As cool as a cucumber	As soft as a baby's bottom
As crazy as a loon	As solid as a rock
As cunning as a fox	As solid as the ground we stand on
As cute as a baby	As sound as a bell
As cute as a button	As sour as vinegar
As cute as a cupcake	As steady as a rock
As damp as the salty blue ocean	As sticky as jam
As dead as a doornail	As stiff as a board
As dead as the dodo	As still as death
As deaf as a post	As straight as an arrow
As delicate as a flower	As strong as an ox
As dense as a brick	As stubborn as a mule
As different as chalk from cheese	As sturdy as an oak
As drunk as a lord	As sure as death and taxes
As dry as a bone	As sweet as honey
As dry as dust	As tall as a giraffe
As dull as dishwater	As tight as a drum
As easy as ABC	As thick as a brick
As easy as pie	As thin as a rake
As fast as a race car	As thin as a toothpick
As fat as a hippo	As timid as a rabbit
As fat as a pig	As tiny as a grain of sand
As fit as a fiddle	As tough as leather
As flat as a pancake	As tough as nails
As free as a bird	As tough as old boots
As fresh as a daisy	As tricky as a box of monkeys
As funny as a balloon	As welcome as a skunk at a lawn party
As gentle as a lamb	As white as a ghost
As hairy as an ape	As white as a sheet
As happy as a clown	As white as snow
As happy as a lark	As wise as Solomon
As happy as Larry	As wise as an owl
As white as my great-grandmother's hair	As merry as a cricket
As much use as a yard of pump water	As modest as a maiden

Metaphor Examples for Kids

• Bruce is the lion king of his class.
• Stacey is a dog when she eats.
• Fire is day; when it goes out, it is night.
• Her soft voice was music to his ears.
• Jason is the Tiger Woods of his golf team.
• His belt was a snake curling around his waist.
• Chris's reply was burning hot and crispy.
• Shaun was a wall, bouncing every tennis ball back over the net.
• The algebra question x+16=30 is a sharp object jiggling around in my brain.
• Ashton tried to help but his legs were rubber.
• He was a stainless steel ruler; tall, straight, and always measured in response.
• How could Ashley marry a snake like that!
• We would have had more pizza to eat if Tina hadn't been such a hog.
• Ashley's hair was a fierce lion's mane; never washed and sticking out in wild directions.
• Rory's eyes were darting searchlights, scanning the room for her rival.
• Every time I have lunch with my friends, I feel that Jason's a real pig.
• Bill's teeth were hardened blue cheese nuggets, speckled with green and black.
• Cindy was such a mule. We couldn't get her to change her mind.
• The poor rat didn't have a chance. Our old cat, a bolt of lightning, caught his prey.
• Taylor was a walking color wheel; always wearing just about every shade possible, all at once.
• Even a child could carry my dog, Dogface, around for hours. He's such a feather.
• Her elderly fingers were thin gnarled branches, twisting oddly from the stem of her palms.
• Julia's purse was a soft-sided trash bin; filled to the top with bits of used tissues, crumpled papers, and a half-eaten apple.

These examples can come in handy when you want to explain yourself in a unique way. Once you know how and when to use similes and metaphors, you'll be able to express yourself in style, without putting a lot of effort.