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 H.

• As haggard as specters
• As hairless as an egg
• As hairy as a mastodon
• As hairy as a spider
• As handsome as paint
• As happy as a lark
• As happy as a child
• As happy as a lord
• As hard as a flint
• As hard as granite
• As hard as steel
• As harmless as a baby
• As harsh as truth
• As harsh as grating wheel
• As hasty as fire
• As hateful as death
• As hateful as hell
• As haughty as the devil
• As healthy as a May morning
• As hearty as an oak
• As heavy as lead
• As helpless as a baby
• As hideous as the Witch of Ender
• As high as heaven
• As high as stars
• As hoarse as raven
• As hollow as drum
• As honest as a mirror
• As hopeful as the break of the day
• As horny as the camel’s knee
• As horrid as the murderer’s dream
• As hot as pepper
• As hot as hell
• As hot as fire
• As hot as molten lead
• As hue less as ghost
• As huge as high Olympus
• As humble as worm
• As humble as Ukiah’s Heep
• As hungry as a wolf
• As hungry as the grave
• As hungry as a bear
• As hungry as a church mouse
• As hushed as midnight