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
At their best, superhero stories can be potent metaphors for tangible human dilemmas.
—
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2026
Ricks’s metaphors are perhaps too much like lightning, more about light than heat.
—Katie Kadue, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Though his metaphors are awfully on the nose, Chiarella convincingly insists on their power.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026
There are metaphors aplenty to interpret in a thriller about a town that goes bonkers when 17 kids go missing in the middle of the night and everybody points to their teacher (Julia Garner).
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
The data was identical, but different metaphors produced completely different conclusions.
—Andy Molinsky, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
The Blind Owl is extremely dense, brimming with metaphors and ciphers and symbols.
—Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026
Symbols and metaphors are the most astonishing of these scars.
—Literary Hub, 15 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
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2026
Ricks’s metaphors are perhaps too much like lightning, more about light than heat.
—Katie Kadue, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Though his metaphors are awfully on the nose, Chiarella convincingly insists on their power.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026
There are metaphors aplenty to interpret in a thriller about a town that goes bonkers when 17 kids go missing in the middle of the night and everybody points to their teacher (Julia Garner).
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
The data was identical, but different metaphors produced completely different conclusions.
—Andy Molinsky, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
The Blind Owl is extremely dense, brimming with metaphors and ciphers and symbols.
—Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026
Symbols and metaphors are the most astonishing of these scars.
—Literary Hub, 15 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for metaphors
Noun
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Eighth-generation master distiller Freddie Noe did not spare any football analogies when describing the whiskey and the collaborative process.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
15 Jan. 2026
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But the historical analogies have clear flaws.—
Morgan Marietta,
The Conversation,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Across the other devices, both Mac and Wearables, Home & Accessories sales declined year over year, while the market anticipated slight growth.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
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Micro-robots and devices To demonstrate practical applications, the team fabricated several working devices.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
29 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 3 Feb. 2026.
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