metaphors

noun

plural of metaphor
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

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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 The Iliad is awash in farming metaphors. — Alexandra Petri, The Atlantic, 25 June 2026 The face’s centrality to social life is inscribed in our language, in the metaphors that betray our world view. — Cal Revely-Calder, New Yorker, 29 June 2026 Gyllenhaal’s movie took heat for wanting to be too many things at once, but this is one of The Bell Jar’s central metaphors. — Literary Hub, 1 July 2026 Take Hogarth, whose moral series seem to me to be exploring how storytelling works through metaphors of paths and journeys. — Clare Bucknell, The New York Review of Books, 27 June 2026 Pardon me for sounding like the Grinch, to mix my cartoon metaphors, but if a film critic doesn’t take the Toy Story series seriously, who will? — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2026 Dani provides the voiceover, filled with strained metaphors about earthquakes and sermons on the importance of summer, but the pretense that the dialogue is taken from his interrogation is quickly abandoned. — Alison Herman, Variety, 19 June 2026 His poetry is notoriously difficult to translate because of its highly ornate, extended metaphors, which have few easy equivalents in English. — Krupa Shandilya, The Conversation, 25 June 2026 Along the way, LePage fills the film with imaginative emotional landmarks from the Island of the Flakes to the Kind Heart Outlet and whimsical visual metaphors, including a wobbling mound of Jell-O that becomes an unlikely symbol of resilience. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 26 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for metaphors
  1. analogies
  2. devices
  3. conceits
Noun
  • This involves sharing only essential details, simplifying complex ideas with analogies, and prioritizing influencing action over mere information delivery.
    — William Arruda, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • But that sort of honesty is far superior to relying on analogies that mask rather than reveal the court’s genuine commitments.
    — Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 25 June 2026
Definition of analogies
Noun
  • The Entertainment Thanks to high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi available on JSX flights, travelers are free to stream and browse directly on their personal devices.
    — Annie Archer, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
  • As more Florida seniors use wearables like continuous glucose monitors, remote blood pressure monitors, smartwatches and fitness trackers, concern grows about who has access to the data these devices collect.
    — Cindy Krischer Goodman, Miami Herald, 6 July 2026
Definition of devices
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
  • Canet has to do some gymnastics to sell several of his conceits, and a few reveals land with the thud of too-easy convenience.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
Definition of conceits

Browse Nearby Words

metaphorically
metaphors
metaphysic
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Cite this Entry

“Metaphors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/metaphors. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on metaphors

Nglish: Translation of metaphors for Spanish Speakers

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