as in analogy
an elaborate or fanciful way of expressing something
"it's raining cats and dogs" is just a colorful metaphor and not a meteorological announcement
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of metaphor
His attempts to drain the blood of Black sharecroppers suggest a simple racial metaphor for Mississippi’s undead past, but the film pursues a set of deeper complexities, in which the vampires and the righteous path of Christianity offer duelling versions of eternal life.
—
Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Yet Minahan’s gambling and equine metaphors blame the past, not foolhardy personal desire.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Apr. 2025
That last part is an apt metaphor for the city, which is on its sixth or 20th reinvention of itself, the days in which the Big Three auto companies created more than 470,000 jobs in the city and state of Michigan in the late ’70s are long gone.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
While Nathan Fielder can still pay off his absurdly meticulous re-creation of a Houston airport terminal and the dozens of mimicked airline crew members and Panda Express workers inside it, the captain/co-pilot dynamic is proving to be an endlessly elastic metaphor.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for metaphor
Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Yet Minahan’s gambling and equine metaphors blame the past, not foolhardy personal desire.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Apr. 2025
That last part is an apt metaphor for the city, which is on its sixth or 20th reinvention of itself, the days in which the Big Three auto companies created more than 470,000 jobs in the city and state of Michigan in the late ’70s are long gone.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
While Nathan Fielder can still pay off his absurdly meticulous re-creation of a Houston airport terminal and the dozens of mimicked airline crew members and Panda Express workers inside it, the captain/co-pilot dynamic is proving to be an endlessly elastic metaphor.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for metaphor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for metaphor
analogy
Noun
-
Psychological inoculation uses a vaccine analogy where exposing people to a weakened dose of the techniques used to produce falsehoods—and deconstructing and refuting them in advance—can help cultivate greater cognitive immunity to future misinformation.—
Sander van der Linden,
Time,
6 May 2025
-
Driving a Lamborghini through Manhattan at 18 miles an hour in traffic is a waste… or insert your own analogy here.—
Adrian Bridgwater,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
Video
When Body Parts Are Also Verbs
Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes
Cite this Entry
“Metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/metaphor. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share