It is a comparison between two unlike things by using the words ‘like’, ‘as’ or ‘than’. It is a figure of speech which uses the words ‘like’, ‘as’, ‘than,’ or ‘as if’ to show the resemblance between two things which are different. Sometimes the verbs ‘appear’, ‘resemble’ or ‘seem’ are also used to compare.
Examples
√ Xuma looked around. He had never seen a place like that before
√ Okonkwo’s fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan.
√ He was as slippery as a fish in water.
√ She is beautiful like an angel.
√ He swims like a fish in the lake.
√ We have changed the plan as it was instructed.
√ It was a morning like other mornings.
√ He is as strong as a lion
√ The earth was like iron, and nothing could be done in the fields.
√ They work as hard as their parents
√ All that year the animals worked like slaves
√ He hisses at her like a snake.
√ I felt like a fish out of water.
√ Kino edged like a slow lizard down the smooth.
√ It shines bright like a diamond.
√ Coyotito was reading from a book as large as a house, with letters as big as a dog.
Both similes and metaphors are forms of comparison. The difference between a simile and a metaphor is that similes allow the two ideas to remain distinct in spite of the similarity. But metaphors equate two ideas despite their difference.
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