Примеры simile на английском

Do you need simile examples to spice up your writing?

Are you looking for something that adds polish to your prose?

Well, you’re in luck.

Similes are just the tool you need to make your writing more colorful and engaging.

And to help you out, we’ve pulled together an extensive list of swipe-worthy simile examples to help spark your creativity.

Let’s get started.

What is a Simile?

A simile is a figure of speech used to compare two objects or concepts with one another using the words “like” or “as”. The objects are usually dissimilar enough that the comparison is surprising.

For example, look at this sentence:

She swaddled the baby until he was as snug as a bug in a rug is a simile.

It compares swaddling the baby to being wrapped snugly like a “bug in a rug.”

The comparison stands out because we are comparing the baby (cute and cuddly) to a bug (not so cute and cuddly).

Why Use Similes?

Here’s something you probably didn’t know:

The word “simile” comes from the Latin word similis meaning similar or like.

Now that we got that out of that way, let’s dive a little deeper into why we use similes in the first place.

So, a simile is used often to:

In other words:

Similes help you paint a picture for your reader.

Think about our earlier example of She swaddled the baby until he was as snug as a bug in a rug.

You could instead say She wrapped the baby tightly in his blanket.

Sure, that describes a swaddled baby. But it doesn’t paint a picture of a baby lovingly wrapped in a soft, cozy blanket, so he is warm and safe.

And that, my friends, is the power of figurative language.

What’s the Difference Between Simile and Metaphor?

People sometimes confuse similes and the almighty metaphor.

You probably know the difference between these two literary devices, but if not, let’s recap simile vs metaphor:

Life is a roller coaster is a metaphor example.

Life is like a rollercoaster is a simile example.

Is There a Difference?

Similes are sometimes confused with simple comparisons.

Your daughter looks just like you is an explicit comparison, not a simile, even though it uses the word like. Comparing a child’s appearance to that of a parent isn’t unusual, so it’s not a true simile.

(Remember: a true simile compares two dissimilar things using like or as).

Your daughter has a smile as bright as sunshine would be a comparison using a simile because a smile and sunshine are two totally different things.

Simile Examples in Literature

You’ll find countless examples of similes in literature – which makes sense because, well, it’s literature.

Now, one of the most famous simile examples might be a line from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens:

Old Marley was as dead as a doornail.

Such imagery, right?

Let’s dissect this:

How can a person be as dead as an inanimate object?

Well, it’s not possible. But that’s not the point.  The big idea here is how Dickens compared Old Marley’s current living status (deceased, in case you forgot) to something that wasn’t alive in the first place.

Old Marley is very much dead.

But just saying that he’s dead isn’t very entertaining (it’s sad, really). So to enhance the comparison and create a more vivid picture of Marley’s current state (again, deceased) Dickens uses a simile.

Let’s dive into some more simile examples in literature:

1984 by George Orwell

He sat as still as a mouse, in the futile hope that whoever it was might go away after a single attempt.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like a thorn.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Like bees swarming after their queen, mother and daughters hovered about Mr. March the next day, neglecting everything to look at, wait upon, and listen to the new invalid, who was in a fair way to be killed by kindness.

Horseradish by Lemony Snicket

A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The pain is like an axe that chops my heart.

Simile Examples in Music

Musicians are masters of using similes to express emotions and paint pictures for the listener.

Let’s take a look at a few popular examples.

Rapper’s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang

I don’t mean to brag, I don’t mean to boast

But we like hot butter on a breakfast toast.

They’re saying they’re popular and sought-after performers.

Let’s get this party rolling with even more examples of similes in music?

I’m Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado

I’m like a bird, I’ll only fly away.

I don’t know where my soul is (soul is)I don’t know where my home is

And baby all I need for you to know is

Easy by Lionel Richie

That’s why I’m easy

I’m easy like Sunday morning

Halo by Beyoncé

Hit me like a ray of sun

Burning through my darkest night

You’re the only one that I want

Think I’m addicted to your light

Diamonds by Rihanna

Shine bright like a diamond

Shining bright like a diamond

We’re beautiful like diamonds in the sky

It’s My Life by Bon Jovi

It’s my life

My heart is like the open highway

Like Frankie said, ‘I did it my way’

I just want to live while I’m alive

A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles

It’s been a hard day’s night, and I been working like a dog

It’s been a hard day’s night, I should be sleeping like a log

But when I get home to you I find the things that you do

Will make me feel alright

Candle in the Wind by Elton John

And it seems to me you lived your life

Like a candle in the wind

Never knowing who to cling to

When the rain set in

And I would’ve liked to know you

But I was just a kid

Your candle burned out long before

Your legend ever did

Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran

In touch with the ground

I’m on the hunt I’m after you

Smell like I sound, I’m lost in a crowd

And I’m hungry like the wolf

Simile Examples in Poetry

Poetry is a great place to use similes when you want to paint evocative pictures for your reader.

When people discuss similes and poetry, A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns is an often-used example.

Read how Burns compares his love to a red rose and, later, a sweet melody:

O my Luve is like a red, red rose

That’s newly sprung in June;

O my Luve is like the melodies

That’s sweetly played in tune.

Let’s explore a few more examples of similes in poetry:

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Harlem by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore-

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over-

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

A Birthday by Christina Rossetti

My heart is like a singing bird

Whose nest is in a water’d shoot;

My heart is like an apple tree

Whose boughs are bent with thickest fruit;

Spring is Like a Perhaps Hand by E. Cummings

Spring is like a perhaps hand

(which comes carefully

out of Nowhere) arranging

a window, into which people look (while

​​arranging and changing placing

carefully there a strange

thing and a known thing here) and

changing everything carefully

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky.

Simile Examples in Film & TV

The beloved movie Forrest Gump has one of the most famous similes EVER:

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.

There’s a similar line from The Last Don, based on the book by Mario Puzo (the guy that wrote The Godfather):

Life is like a box of hand grenades. You never know what will blow you to kingdom come.

Each of these similes is saying the same thing:

We don’t know what life has in store for us.

If you’d like a few more examples of similes in Film and TV, read on!

State Farm commercials

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Shrek

“Your voice is like a combination of Fergie and Jesus.”

Finding Nemo

“I’m a fish with a nose like a sword.”

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

“You’re as cuddly as a cactus, you’re as charming as an eel.”

Common Examples of Simile (From Life, Love, & Everyday Speech)

Our everyday speech is littered with similes. You probably don’t realize how frequently you use them because they’re as common as pig tracks in wet weather or as ticks on a junkyard dog.

Here are some common similes using as:

Here are some common similes using like:

And let’s not forget these famous quotes about life and love that use similes to enhance their meaning:

Love is like friendship caught on fire.Bruce Lee

Love is like a faucet; it turns off and on.Billie Holiday

Love is like the wind, you can’t see it but you can feel it.Nicholas Sparks

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.Albert Einstein

Life is like writing with a pen. You can cross out your past but you can’t erase it.E.B. White

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see.Muhammad Ali

Parents are like God because you wanna know they’re out there, and you want them to think well of you, but you really only call when you need something.Chuck Palahniuk

Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?Mark Twain

A room without books is like a body without a soul.Marcus Tullius Cicero

Which Simile Examples Will You Use?

Similes are a powerful literary device to use in your writing and we hope these great examples inspired you.

Now that you’ve got all these examples in your writing arsenal, you’re poised to write some of your best work ever.

What similes are you excited to use in your next piece of writing?

Сравнение в английском языке

Сравнение (Simile) – стилистический приём эмоционального сопоставления соединителем as (if), like, seem. Стилистическое сравнение взвешивает разнотипные предметы с одной общей чертой.

I wandered lonely as a cloud – Я одиноко брёл словно облако

Rise like lions after slumber – Вставайте как львы после спячки

В отличие от метафоры, объединяющей два предмета, сравнение их разъединяет. Некоторые сравнения постепенно превращаются в метафоры.

Стёртое сравнение

busy as a bee – занятой как пчёлка

blind as a bat – слепой как крот

to swim like a duck – плыть как утка

thirsty as a camel – жаждущий как верблюд

eyes like tennis balls – глаза по 5 копеек

He was like a branch that severed itself from the parental tree – Он был словно ветвью от родительского древа

Подлинное сравнение

eyes like forget-me-nots – глаза как незабудки

Видео ролик — музыкальный мультфильм на английском языке, в котором сравнивается английская метафора и сравнение (metaphor and simile):

A priest dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates.

Ahead of him is a guy dressed in sunglasses and leather jacket. Saint Peter asks him «Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven? » The guy replies, «I’m Captain Knight, retired American Airlines Pilot from Dallas. «

Saint Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the pilot, «Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom. «

Next up is the priest. He stands erect and booms out, «I am Father Joe, pastor of Saint Mary’s in Pasadena for the last 43 years. » Saint Peter consults his list. He says to the priest, «Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom. «

«Wait a minute,» says the good father, «that pilot gets a silken robe and golden staff while I get only cotton and wood. How can this be? «

Similies — Сравнения

As bitter as gall — горький, как полынь.
As black as a crow, as a raven, as a raven’s wing — черный, как ворон.
As black as coal — черный, как сажа.
As black as ink — мрачный, безрадостный.
As black as hell, as midnight — совершенно темно.
As black as sin, as thunder — мрачнее тучи.
As blind as a bat, as a beetle — совершенно слепой.
As bold, brave as a lion — храбрый, как лев.
As bright as a button, as a new penny, as a new pin – нарядный, с иголочки.
As brisk as a bee — очень проворный
As brittle as glass — хрупкий, как стекло.
As brown as a berry — загорелый.

As busy as a bee, as a hen with one chicken — очень занятый.
As changeable as the moon — семь пятниц на неделе.
As cheerful as a lark — жизнерадостный.
As clean as a whistle — прямо, начисто.
As clear as a bell — ясно слышимый.
As clear as crystal — чёткий, ясный.
As clear as a day, as daylight — ясный, как день.
As clear as mud (ironic) — совершенно неясно.
As clear as two and two make four — ясно, как дважды два — четыре.
As clear as the sun at noonday — ясно, как день.
As closed as an oyster — нем, как рыба.
As cold as charity, as ice, as marble, as a stone — холодный, как лед.
As common as dirt — самый обычный.
As cool as a cucumber — совершенно невозмутимый.
As crazy as a bedbug — рехнувшийся.
As crooked as a corkscrew — бесчестный: пробу негде ставить.
As cross as a bear — не на шутку рассерженный.
As cross as two sticks -в плохом настроении.
As cunning as a fox — хитрый как лиса.
As dark as midnight — ни зги не видно.
As dead as a doornail — бездыханный.
As dead as a herring — бездыханный.
As deaf as an adder, as a post — глухая тетеря.
As mad as a March hare — не в своем уме.
As merry as a cricket — полный жизни.
As merry as a marriage-bell — очень весёлый.
As mild as a dove, as a lamb, as milk — кроткий, как овечка.
As mule as a statue — нем, как рыба.
As quiet, silent as a mouse — тихий, как мышка.
As neat as a bandbox — с иголочки.
As numberless as the sands — бесчисленные, как песчинки.
As near as no matter — почти, на волосок от.
As obstinate, stubborn as a mule — упрямый, как осёл.
As old as Adam — старо, как мир.
As old as Methuselah — старый, как Мафусаил.
As pale as a ghost – смертельно белый.
As pale as ashes — бледный, как полотно.
As plain as daylight — ясно, как день.
As plain as the nose on your face — совершенно очевидно.
As plain as the sun at noonday — яснее ясного.
As plump as a partridge — пухлый, толстенький.
As poor as a church mouse — беден, как церковная мышь.
As poor as Job — беден, как Иов.
As proud as a peacock — важный, как павлин.
As proud as Lucifer — гордый, как дьявол.
As pleased as punch — очень доволен.
As pure as a lily — чистый, непорочный.
As quick as a flash — быстрый, как молния.
As red as a cherry — кровь с молоком.
As red as a lobster — красный, как рак.
As red as a turkey cock — красный, как индюк.
As red as blood — красный, как кровь.
As red as fire — огненно-красный.
As regular as clockwork — с точностью часового механизма.
As safe as the Bank of England — надёжный, устойчивый.
As salt as brine — одна соль.
As sick as a cat — испытывающий приступ рвоты.
As silent as the grave — нем как могила.
As slick as a whistle — ловко, начисто.
As slow as a snail — медлительный.
As dry as a mummy — высохший, как мумия.
As drunk as a fiddler — пьян в стельку.
As dumb as a fish — нем, как рыба.
As dumb as a wooden Indian — глуп, как пробка.
As easy as ABC — легче лёгкого.
As easy as falling off a log — проще простого.
A face as long as a fiddle — унылое, мрачное лицо.
As fair as a lily — прекрасный, как лилия.
As far back as — ещё, уже.
As fast as a hare — быстрый, как заяц.
As fast as one’s legs can carry one — со всех ног, сломя голову.
As fat as a pig — толстый, как боров.
As fine as a fiddle — в добром здоровье, как нельзя лучше.
As fine as silk — мягкий, как шелк.
As firm as a rock — неподвижный, как скала.
As dumb as a fish — нем, как рыба.
As flat as a board — плоский, как доска.
As flat as flounder, as a pancake, as your hand — совершенно плоский.
As fleet as a deer — быстроногий, как лань.
As free as the wind — свободный, как ветер.
As fresh as a daisy — пышущий здоровьем.
As fresh as paint — бодрый, свежий.
As full as a googol — переполненный.
As funny as a crutch (ironic) — ничего смешного.
As good as one’s word — верный своему слову.
As good as a play — очень забавно.
As good as gold — золотой человек.
As good as pie — паинька.
As good as wheat — подходящий.
As silly as a goose — глуп, как пробка.
As harmless as a dove — кроткий, как голубка.
As heavy as lead — тяжелый, как свинец.
As helpless as a baby — беспомощный, как ребенок.
As lean as a rake — худ, как щепка.
As light as a feather — легкий, как пух.
As light as a butterfly — легкомысленный.
As smooth as glass — гладкий, как стекло.
As snug as a bug in a rug — очень уютно.
As soft as butter, down, silk, velvet — мягкий, как пух.
As sound as a bell — здоров, как бык.
As sour as vinegar — кислый, как уксус.
As straight as an arrow — прямой, как стрела.
As straight as a poker — прямой, словно аршин проглотил.
As straight as a die — прямолинейный.
As strong as a horse — силен, как бык.
As strong as brandy — очень крепкий.
As stupid as a donkey -глуп, как осел.
As sure as a gun — верно, как дважды два — четыре.
As sure as eggs is eggs — как пить дать.
As sure as fate — несомненно, неизбежно.
As sweet as honey — сладкий, как мёд.
As swift as an arrow — с быстротой молнии.
As tall as a maypole — “каланча”.
As tame as a chicken — ручной, как цыпленок.
As tender as a chicken — нежное, как курятина (о мясе).
As thin as a lath — худ, как щепка.
As tight as a drum — туго натянутый.
As timid as a hare — трусливый, как заяц.
As tough as leather — жёсткий, как подошва (о еде).
As true as flint — преданный душой и телом.
As true as the needle to the pole — надежный.
As ugly as a scarecrow — страшен, как пугало.
As unstable as water — неустойчивый, непостоянный.
As warm as toast — очень теплый.
As watchful as a hawk — зоркий, как ястреб.
As weak as water — слабенький, хиленький.
As welcome as flowers in May — долгожданный, весьма кстати.
As welcome as a storm — нужен, как собаке пятая нога.
As white as chalk — белый, как мел.
As white as a sheet — смертельно белый.
As wide as the poles apart — диаметрально противоположный.
As wise as Solomon — умный, как Соломон.
As yellow as a crow’s foot, as gold — жёлтый, как лимон.

Simile (pronounced sim—uh-lee) is a literary term where you use “like” or “as” to compare two different things and show a common quality between them. A simile is different from a simple comparison in that it usually compares two unrelated things. For example, “She looks like you” is a comparison but not a simile. On the other hand, “She smiles like the sun” is a simile, as it compares a woman with something of a different kind- the sun.

Examples of Similes

Similes find, or perhaps create, similarities in typically different things. In fact, there may be no real similarity between the things compared, such a woman and the sun.

Example #1

The image below describes a girl’s smile.

Using the sun to describe a girl’s smile gives you an idea of how bright her smile seems, you can just picture its radiance.

Example #2

Consider this description of a thin man:

He’s as thin as a rail!

There can be no real similarity between a man and a rail. But, describing a man as “as thin as a rail” evokes the image of a remarkably thin man, as a rail is a very thin pole.

Example #3

Consider a description of a graceful woman:

She moved like a deer.

In this case, the comparison is much closer; a deer and a person are at least both living creatures. But they are still different enough for it to be a simile. After all, if she literally moved just like a deer, she might be graceful, but we would also worry about her sanity. The simile is still figurative, because we’re just saying that she moves with some of the qualities of a deer, not just like one!

III. The importance of using Similes

Similes are an important tool that make language more creative, descriptive, and entertaining. The mind thinks in images and associations, so similes are used to make stronger and more effective descriptions than if only adjectives or literal descriptions were used; they can stir up associated emotions, create new connections in the mind, and emphasize certain characteristics. Similes are almost essential to creative expression from everyday speech to poetry.

Examples of Similes in Literature

Similes give the reader a more vivid experience of the story, calling powerful images to mind.

For an example of simile in prose, read this excerpt from George Orwell’s novel 1984:

He sat as still as a mouse, in the futile hope that whoever it was might go away after a single attempt. But no, the knocking was repeated. The worst thing of all would be to delay. His heart was thumping like a drum, but his face, from long habit, was probably expressionless.

This passage uses two similes: “as still as a mouse” and “thumping like a drum.” Comparing the fearful man to a mouse emphasizes both his stillness and his helplessness. Comparing a heartbeat to a drumbeat emphasizes its pounding due to fear. Similes create a much more evocative passage than literal alternatives such as “He was afraid” and “His heart beat hard.”

For a poetic example of simile, read an excerpt from Christina Rossetti’s poem “A Birthday”:

My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water’d shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Because my love is come to me.

Rossetti uses simile three times in this section of the poem: her heart is “like a singing bird,” “like an apple-tree,” and “like a rainbow shell.” Rossetti compares the heart to a joyful bird in a full nest, an apple tree full of fruit, and a beautiful shell in a peaceful sea in order to poetically describe its joy, fullness, and peacefulness.

Examples of Similes in Pop Culture

Similes are just as prevalent in pop culture as they are in art, from movies and television to song.

Lenka’s Everything at Once:

As sly as a fox

As strong as an ox

As brave as a bear

Lenka performing the song:

Lenka — Everything At Once

This video uses Lenka’s song “Everything at Once” which is full of similes. Lenka describes many character traits that she wishes to have, including shyness, strength, quickness, and bravery, by using animals or objects that symbolize those traits.

I don’t mean to brag, I don’t mean to boast, but we like hot butter on the breakfast toast.

The Sugarhill Gang — Rapper’s Delight (Official Video)

This example is an excerpt from Sugarhill Gang’s song “Rappers Delight.” Comparing themselves to hot butter on toast is a way of saying just how ‘hot,’ or popular, the group is.

The next example of Simile even became a popular catch-phrase:

Shake it like a Polaroid picture!

This example is from Outkast’s hit song “Hey Ya!” Comparing the body to a Polaroid picture encourages the audience to get up, dance, and shake the same way people used to shake a polaroid picture to dry it out more quickly.

Simile vs. Metaphor

He’s a wolf.

In this metaphor, the comparison made is that a person is equal to a wolf, not like a wolf. Since this cannot be literal, we know that it must mean that he is like a wolf in some way, probably that he is predatory, wild, or hungry.  In order to express the same idea, simile is slightly different:

He’s like a wolf. Or

He’s as hungry as a wolf.

As you can see, both metaphors and similes make the same kinds of vivid comparisons, just in different words. Which one you use may just depend on what kind of wording sounds or feels best in context.

In Closing

Similes are a powerful and creative form of description that uses comparison to evoke images or symbols of whatever you are trying to describe. The simile can make a woman’s smile beautiful by comparing it to a rose, or it can make her sly by comparing her to a fox. Similes use comparison to create connections between very different things, creating strong feelings and images.