as in analogy
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 metaphor
Today, random image content is indiscriminately reappropriated in residential design, merging idioms and mixing metaphors, resulting in a confused new architectural globalism.
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Richard Olsen, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Ginsburg created the lighthouse metaphor to remind parents to be a stable force in their children’s lives.
—Lynda Lin Grigsby, NBC News, 26 Oct. 2024
The city of God metaphor has long been a tool for American leaders – both to idealize the nation and to warn against immigration.
—Yii-Jan Lin, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2024
Nandor is mostly just helpless without Guillermo and needs to be close to him — a bit like a puppy, to continue the animal metaphor.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for metaphor 
Richard Olsen, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Ginsburg created the lighthouse metaphor to remind parents to be a stable force in their children’s lives.
—Lynda Lin Grigsby, NBC News, 26 Oct. 2024
The city of God metaphor has long been a tool for American leaders – both to idealize the nation and to warn against immigration.
—Yii-Jan Lin, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2024
Nandor is mostly just helpless without Guillermo and needs to be close to him — a bit like a puppy, to continue the animal metaphor.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for metaphor
Video
When Body Parts Are Also Verbs
Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes
Thesaurus Entries Near metaphor
Cite this Entry
“Metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/metaphor. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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