What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?

Question

Trying to finish a worksheet

Answer 1

A simile is a figurative comparison between two things using "like" or "as" - ex. Life is like a box of chocolates.

A metaphor is also a figurative comparison between two things, but does not use "like" or "as" - ex. All the world's a stage.

Keep in mind that a simile is a type of metaphor, so all similes are technically metaphors.

Good luck with your worksheet!

Answer 2

Both simile and metaphor are figurative comparisons.

When using a simile, you compare two things using the words like or as.

ex:You're like a firework.

When using a metaphor, you compare two things directly. No need to use like or as.

ex: You're a firework.

With a simile, you are like something. With a metaphor, you are something.

 

Answer 3

Metaphors and simlies can be confusing sometimes, because they are very similar. Both are forms of figurative language. Similies use 'like' or 'as' in them: The sunset was like a blazing fire. OR, The sunset was as intense as a blazing fire. Helpful hint: similie has an 'L' in it, so think 'L': 'like' or 'as'. Metaphors compare two items without such buffer words: The sunset was a blazing fire.

Answer 4

A simile is comparing to things using the words "like" or "as"

A metaphore compares things WITHOUT using the words "like" or "as"

For example:

(using a simile) The girl is as pretty as a rose.

(using a metaphore) The girl is a pretty rose.

Answer 5

Both are examples of figurative language.

With a simile, you are comparing two things using "like" or "as."

For example: His smile was as big as the Grand Canyon.

This comparison illustrates that this mans smile was huge, comparing it to the Grand Canyon.

I like to think of a metaphor as a stronger simile. With a metaphor, the two things being compared are so much alike that they no longer are "like" something but they are something.

For example: His smile was the Grand Canyon.

This is still a comparison only now it no longer uses "like" or "as." The mans smile was so big, it WAS the Grand Canyon.

Answer 6

Think about the way you talk and the answer is obvious.

 

Simile:  "You are wild like a tiger when you play ball!"

 

Metaphor: "You  are a tiger on the field!"  (no like needed)

 

 

The difference is that the simile uses like or as, and the metaphor compares the things directly.

Answer 7

Everyone here has listed fantastic definitions and examples. I find simile and metaphor to be some of the most fun and easy comparison tools in a writer's tool box. Simile uses like and as to create a comparison and metaphor does not. 

Answer 8

The simple explanations for Metaphors are already explained, but let me add the following examples.

When as is used as a preposition to introduce parallels of meaning (not being used as an adverb or adjective) as can introduce a metaphor. ex. As the sand quickly slipped away, before we could say so long brother he died with a rifle in his hand and a picture of his beloved Becky in his left breast pocket. "Sand" is used as a metaphor for time. A good test for this is to remove "as" from the sentence. If it still it still makes since it probably is a metaphor. Also, an entire work could be used as a metaphor. For example read E.E. Cummings' " she being Brand / -new (1926) Spoiler Alert! Driving a new car for the first time is a metaphor is having sex with someone their first time. Another great example is Shakespeare's Sonnet #4 "Unthrifty Loveliness." The best method that I have used is metaphors usually can have multiple meanings or be vague, while similes usually are straight forward. The most important rule I learned about literature is that there are exceptions to all rules. Think, what to you think the author trying to say. As long as it makes since to you it is yours; be willing to listen to others while they help you change yours or not. It is still yours and no one can take it away.   

Answer 9

Both a simile and a metaphor are literary techniques to compare two things with a descriptive phrase. Yes, a Simile is easier to spot because it is a STATED comparison using "like" or "as". The difference with a metaphor is the comparison is implied directly. Example: My cat is like a dog following me on a path. This is a simile. My cat is a dog following me on my path. That is a metaphor.

The phrase "I am as hungry as a horse", does not mean I will eat hay or really eat that much food but it is Not a Simile because it is not comparing two things. It describes the degree of the horse's hunger but does not equate the horse with the hunger.

Answer 10

Both similes and metaphors are literary techniques used to compare two different things; however, they do so differently. A simile is a comparison that uses "like" or "as" in the comparison. A metaphor is a comparison that says something is something else. Examples: A simile--"He was like a lion in battle." A Metaphor--"Her smile was a bright light in a dark, dark tunnel."

Answer 11

Similes use 'as' or 'like' to describe something by relating it to something similar (Hence Simile) For example He was as quick as a fox and metaphors do the same but do not use 'as' or 'like' and the two things mentioned are usually completely unrelated. For example the curtain of night. 

Answer 12

The easiest way to rememer this is: "S" A Simile is a Stated comparison. (A metaphor is not stated.) Metaphor: The new student was a little tornado gathering strength. Simile: The new student was like a volcano overflowing with angry lava. If the sentence has the word "like" in it, comparing two things, it is a simile because the comparison is stated.