metaphor
metaphor Lexical Profile
metaphor Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable, representing one thing in terms of another.
"In her poem, the vast and turbulent ocean serves as a metaphor for the unpredictable nature of human emotion."
A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract.
"The crumbling foundations of the old courthouse became an apt metaphor for the failing justice system."
Word Nuance & Usage
Often confused with 'simile', which explicitly uses the words 'like' or 'as' to compare two things; a metaphor directly states that one thing is another for rhetorical effect.
• Rhymes for metaphor
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old French 'metaphore', via Latin from Greek 'metaphora' meaning 'a transferring', derived from 'metapherein' (to transfer), from 'meta-' (across) + 'pherein' (to carry or bear).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.