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
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 metaphors
Animals serve as allies, guides, objects of cruelty and aggression, and as striking metaphors for power, imperialism, and insurrection.
—
Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
Arnold uses different metaphors to describe his feelings about what lies between him and brother.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
The songs are representative of teams via lyrics, metaphors and just overall vibes.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 2 June 2026
And metaphors have great life and longevity.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 31 May 2026
The baseball metaphors kept coming.
—John Werner, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Anyone who seeks out career advice (in any field) is destined to get bombarded with metaphors.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 8 May 2026
The artist has described works like this one as metaphors for the violence of colonialism in her home country.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 4 May 2026
Ebel even alternates between hockey and baseball metaphors.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 4 May 2026
Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
Arnold uses different metaphors to describe his feelings about what lies between him and brother.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
The songs are representative of teams via lyrics, metaphors and just overall vibes.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 2 June 2026
And metaphors have great life and longevity.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 31 May 2026
The baseball metaphors kept coming.
—John Werner, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Anyone who seeks out career advice (in any field) is destined to get bombarded with metaphors.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 8 May 2026
The artist has described works like this one as metaphors for the violence of colonialism in her home country.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 4 May 2026
Ebel even alternates between hockey and baseball metaphors.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 4 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for metaphors
Noun
-
But upcoming listings from SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are big enough and systemically important enough to the market that those analogies may not apply.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
-
The closest analogies for compute are oil and electricity — commodities that are essential, volatile, and hard to store or transport, Silicon Data CEO Carmen Li told Semafor.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Spending on mental wellness has accelerated faster than the evidence base, encompassing everything from spa retreats to brain supplements, smartphone apps, and at-home devices.—
Melinda Fulmer,
Robb Report,
11 June 2026
-
Check out these helpful tips to make the most of your devices' benefits.—
Timothy Dale,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
This might actually be the first Yoshi platformer to not fully embrace a unique arts-and-crafts aesthetic in quite some time, considering how much Yoshi's Crafted World and Yoshi's Woolly World leaned fully into their papercraft and yarn conceits, respectively.—
Will Greenwald,
PC Magazine,
19 May 2026
-
Like other similar conceits, however (Murder by Death comes immediately to mind), Clue can’t always sustain a high level of invention, despite its relatively brief 87-minute running time.—
Kirk Ellis,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Metaphors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/metaphors. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
