English for Students

Similes

Similes are a specific and formulaic form of allegory. A simile is a juxtaposed comparison of two or more objects to draw attention to their similarities. In English, similes are typically marked by use of like or as or than or resembles. Similes show how two things, that are not alike in most ways, are similar in one important way. Similes are a way to describe something. Authors use them to make their writing more interesting or entertaining.

A popular mnemonic for a simile is that a simile is similar or alike.

Examples:

1. Playing chess with Ashley is like trying to outsmart a computer.

The activity playing chess with Ashley is being compared to trying to outsmart a computer. The point is that Ashley can think in a powerful manner that resembles the way a computer operates, not that she is like a computer in any other way.

2. His temper was as explosive as a volcano.

His temper is being compared to a volcano in that it can be sudden and violent.

Few more examples of similes:

• Walking onto those sun-warmed stones was like stepping onto a hot plate.
• The cat, quick as lightning, pounced on the rat.
• She's as dull as a doorknob.

Similes have been widely used in literature for their expressiveness as a figure of speech:

• Curley was flopping like a fish on a line.
• The very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric.
• Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus.

Here is list of Similes beginning with L.

• As languid as love-sick maid
• As lasting as the pyramids
• As lawful as eating
• As lawless as the stormy wind
• As lax as cut string
• As lazy as a toad
• As lazy as a lobster
• As lazy as a ship in the doldrums
• As lean as Santo’s ass
• As lean as a lath
• As lean as a skeleton
• As level as pond
• As liberal as the sun
• As lifeless as the grave
• As light as down
• As light as air
• As light as cork
• As light as feather
• As lithe as panther
• As lithe as a tiger
• As little as a squirrel
• As little as Tom Thumb
• As lively as a cricket
• As loathsome as a toad
• As lonely as a deserted ship
• As lonely as Arctic sea
• As loquacious as Polonius
• As loud as thunder
• As loud as horn
• As lovely as Venus
• As lovely as the violet
• As low as the grave
• As lowly as a slave
• As loyal as a dove