as in analogies
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 metaphors
For the monks or clerics, it is presented as a material substance, carried like a sack of gold on the demon’s back; the metaphors used are monetary or economic, as though the monks owe ordered syllables to God instead of the monetary tithe their vows of poverty render unnecessary.
—
JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
One that isn’t slurred together from such a familiar combination of backwater lawlessness, faux-polite menace, and profoundly sweaty animal metaphors.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 31 Oct. 2025
The metaphors of two competitive tennis players vying for the love of a third are not buried especially deep in this film, but no one came here looking for Tolstoy.
—John Ortved, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2025
That’s a heavy load to balance — on top of a slew of symbols and metaphors.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
This is a series that has always operated as absurd speculation, where broad metaphors about life and science get posited amid techno beats and car chases.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
Its pointed lyrics and dark metaphors have led many to dissect not only Swift’s personal experiences with industry executives but the broader realities facing young artists in the music business today.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Certainly Lockwood’s skill with metaphors has not waned.
—Paul McAdory, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
Chinese doctors warned clinicians that patients may deploy Confucian metaphors framing hereditary cancer as moral condemnation.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
One that isn’t slurred together from such a familiar combination of backwater lawlessness, faux-polite menace, and profoundly sweaty animal metaphors.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 31 Oct. 2025
The metaphors of two competitive tennis players vying for the love of a third are not buried especially deep in this film, but no one came here looking for Tolstoy.
—John Ortved, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2025
That’s a heavy load to balance — on top of a slew of symbols and metaphors.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
This is a series that has always operated as absurd speculation, where broad metaphors about life and science get posited amid techno beats and car chases.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
Its pointed lyrics and dark metaphors have led many to dissect not only Swift’s personal experiences with industry executives but the broader realities facing young artists in the music business today.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Certainly Lockwood’s skill with metaphors has not waned.
—Paul McAdory, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
Chinese doctors warned clinicians that patients may deploy Confucian metaphors framing hereditary cancer as moral condemnation.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for metaphors
Noun
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Max’s wide range of uses has prompted analogies to China’s WeChat.—
Justin Sherman,
The Atlantic,
11 Oct. 2025
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When the United States joined NATO in 1949, American policymakers pointed to the Rio Pact as a precedent and drew analogies between the alliance’s founding document, the North Atlantic Treaty, and the Monroe Doctrine.—
JENNIFER KAVANAGH,
Foreign Affairs,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The National Fire Protection Association recommends that devices not be charged under a pillow, or on a bed or couch.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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The team hopes the new battery could power next-generation aircraft, drones, and portable devices.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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One of Weapons’ conceits is its chapter structure centering on particular characters, and sources say that Cregger actually had a chapter focused on Gladys and some of her backstory.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Aug. 2025
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All the conceits of a true-crime film are there – the lead detective interviews, shaky images from police-cams, the salacious headlines, the nauseating crime scene photos, the TV news reports, teary interviews with friends and family.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Metaphors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/metaphors. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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