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 U.

• As ugly as scarecrow
• As ugly as a sin
• As ugly as a bear
• As unapproachable as a star
• As unattractive as a gargoyle
• As uncertain as the weather
• As unchangeable as the past
• As unclean as a sin
• As uncomplaining as a lamb
• As uncompromising as justice
• As unconquerable as chewing gum
• As uncontrollable as the wave
• As unfeeling as the rocks
• As unhappy as King Lear
• As universal as seasickness
• As universal as light
• As unmerciful as the billows
• As unprofitable as smoke
• As unreal as a dream
• As unstable as the wind
• As unsteady as the ocean
• As unusual as a sailor on horseback
• As upright as a tower
• As useful as a cow