Simile

A simile (SIM-uh-lee) is a type of figurative language that describes something by comparing it to something else. While a metaphor states outright that one thing is another thing, similes soften the comparison slightly by using words such as like or as.

You’re probably already familiar with plenty of similes: Life is like a box of chocolates. He’s as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. She sleeps like the dead.

Why Use a Simile?

Similes add color and interest to your writing. As with other types of figurative language, a well-crafted simile can delight your readers and paint a colorful picture in just a few words. Consider the difference between these two sentences:

Lois walked across the room with purpose.
Lois moved across the room like a warship sailing into battle.

Both sentences describe the way Lois walks across the room. The first sentence is relatively bland. But the simile in the second sentence conjures up a mental image and invites the reader to imagine the qualities of an old-fashioned warship sailing to battle—stateliness, determination, pride, perhaps a hint of danger—and associates them with Lois as she crosses the room. It characterizes Lois as an imposing figure and hints at what she plans to do when she gets to wherever she’s going.

Similes and Other Types of Figurative Language

Similes often make use of hyperbole:

He runs as fast as lightning.
She’s as sweet as honey.
I watched them like a hawk.
You sing like an angel.

Similes are useful for focusing on a particular aspect of a comparison and can keep a hyperbolic statement from seeming over-the-top. Dirk’s a mean snake doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as Dirk’s as mean as a snake. The first version is a metaphor, but it’s so blunt that it risks seeming clumsy or childish. The second version, a simile, more clearly emphasizes the quality that Dirk shares with snakes: meanness.

Figurative language is an excellent way to add interest and imagery to your writing. The next time you’re struggling to find exactly the right words for a description, take a moment and see if you can come up with the perfect simile.

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