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
Bird and visitors are, for Urbano, ideal metaphors for the citizens of Utopia, a place beyond reach yet accessible through the uchronic resources of poetry and symbol.
—
Javier Montes, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
The year 2025 was more tumultuous than any silly football game and its accompanying overwrought metaphors.
—Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Both series use supernatural elements as metaphors for growing up.
—Judy Berman, Time, 26 Dec. 2025
Survivor’s tribal councils of late have been awfully fond of Probst and the players indulging in tortured metaphors about the game, so Coach at least appears ready to engage with the current Survivor Zeitgeist.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
The track, like most of his November Still Goin EP, feels like the best of classic Atlanta rap’s properties without the gruff trap tales or drug metaphors attached.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2025
This reflects Rabbinic Judaism’s tendency to reread biblical and other texts about land and power as metaphors for spiritual growth and faith.
—Joshua Shanes, The Conversation, 11 Dec. 2025
The novella is a haunted house, dual point of view ride where the metaphors from the top down are consistently delivered.
—Amber McBride, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
The writer son makes metaphors out of the garden—indeed, out of the very idea of the garden-as-metaphor—while the father, who told great stories but was entirely unliterary, made a garden out of the earth.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Javier Montes, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
The year 2025 was more tumultuous than any silly football game and its accompanying overwrought metaphors.
—Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Both series use supernatural elements as metaphors for growing up.
—Judy Berman, Time, 26 Dec. 2025
Survivor’s tribal councils of late have been awfully fond of Probst and the players indulging in tortured metaphors about the game, so Coach at least appears ready to engage with the current Survivor Zeitgeist.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
The track, like most of his November Still Goin EP, feels like the best of classic Atlanta rap’s properties without the gruff trap tales or drug metaphors attached.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2025
This reflects Rabbinic Judaism’s tendency to reread biblical and other texts about land and power as metaphors for spiritual growth and faith.
—Joshua Shanes, The Conversation, 11 Dec. 2025
The novella is a haunted house, dual point of view ride where the metaphors from the top down are consistently delivered.
—Amber McBride, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
The writer son makes metaphors out of the garden—indeed, out of the very idea of the garden-as-metaphor—while the father, who told great stories but was entirely unliterary, made a garden out of the earth.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for metaphors
Noun
-
Here was a program that could translate as well as an expert, make analogies, extemporize, generalize.—
James Somers,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
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Max’s wide range of uses has prompted analogies to China’s WeChat.—
Justin Sherman,
The Atlantic,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Samsung says the sensor targets users who want professional-grade imaging from mobile devices.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Jan. 2026
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Speaking to gadgets is often faster than typing, but Amazon and Nirva also see their devices as another means to gather data that can provide insights about a user’s life, though doing so will surely raise privacy concerns.—
Lisa Eadicicco,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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There’s something about those ideas that are big, silly, cinematic, surreal conceits that drew me in.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
24 Nov. 2025
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But even her most impish conceits are undergirded by a fundamental conviction, a belief in the power of art to wake the dead.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
20 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Metaphors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/metaphors. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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