Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Plural form of
simile .
Etymologies
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Examples
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Beyond coining similes, she had the further presence of mind to step to the side of the stairs, use a lamp post to perch herself briefly on a railing, and with that vantage use the opera glasses to look over the whole of the crowd — which her height alone would never have afforded.
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters Dahlquist, Gordon 2006
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Beyond coining similes, she had the further presence of mind to step to the side of the stairs, use a lamp post to perch herself briefly on a railing, and with that vantage use the opera glasses to look over the whole of the crowd — which her height alone would never have afforded.
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters Dahlquist, Gordon 2006
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In the character of Hinda, colonization and seduction become intertwined as she metamorphoses in similes comparing her to land.
Irish Odalisques and Other Seductive Figures: Thomas Moore 2000
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Deity, to draw his inadequate similes from the conjugal or civil partnerships of life, and to describe the manhood of Christ as the robe, the instrument, the tabernacle of his Godhead.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206
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And some very clever and unexpected similes, which is half the fun in these books.
Book Report: Falling Sideways, by Tom Holt Ulysses 2008
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And some very clever and unexpected similes, which is half the fun in these books.
Archive 2008-10-01 Ulysses 2008
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He smiled ruefully since he felt that this equating of the fundamental human institution to a stench or other pejorative similes was a ludicrous misjudgment based upon conjectures from the stinted, pathetic, and sometimes perverse experience which made up his understanding.
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Maybe my similes are a bit mixed, but you'll excuse that, as we're both Irish.
Everyman's Land 1889
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The grandeur of the similes is another feature which characterizes great poetry.
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Similarly, The Monthly Review remarks in 1817 that Moore's "similes" and "illustrations" are carefully specific to his Eastern setting, and quotes from Moore's footnotes to Lalla Rookh in order to demonstrate the extent of Moore's "oriental research" (178, 188).
Irish Odalisques and Other Seductive Figures: Thomas Moore 2000
dario commented on the word similes
From one of wordnik's examples:
"He indulges in similes and expressions as rich and varied as the vegetation of his own tropical lands."
In my opinion, similes are expressions you build to emphasize a particular idea.
e.g. topic: a girl's eyes and hair.
Her eyes were blue like the deepest ocean and her hair was as soft as the finest silk.
In this case I want to emphasize that I liked both, her hair and her eyes, so I compare them to things most people would recognize and, since my intention is to be positive in meaning, admire.
Similes referring to animals
as quiet as a mouse, as slippery as an eel, as strong as an ox, as brave as a lion
April 30, 2010