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
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Recent Examples of metaphor
Iranian artists and intellectuals tend to rely on subtlety, embedding meaning within layers of metaphor and covert language: a necessity in a place where direct expression often comes at great risk.
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Rebecca Ruth Gould, JSTOR Daily, 9 Apr. 2025
Few players indulge in the metaphors of clay-court tennis like Stefanos Tsitsipas.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
This Lowertown art space (formerly known as Argyle Zebra Community Gallery) has a cool curatorial model: All their shows in a year focus on one specific metaphor.
—Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2025
Here the metaphor is jettisoned for the actual and stark story, set in the looming world of Scott Pask’s set, Heather Gilbert’s lighting and Brenda Abbandandolo’s costumes.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for metaphor
Rebecca Ruth Gould, JSTOR Daily, 9 Apr. 2025
Few players indulge in the metaphors of clay-court tennis like Stefanos Tsitsipas.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
This Lowertown art space (formerly known as Argyle Zebra Community Gallery) has a cool curatorial model: All their shows in a year focus on one specific metaphor.
—Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2025
Here the metaphor is jettisoned for the actual and stark story, set in the looming world of Scott Pask’s set, Heather Gilbert’s lighting and Brenda Abbandandolo’s costumes.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for metaphor
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 30 Apr. 2025.
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