Simile is a figure of speech similar to a metaphor, but one we are more likely to use in everyday speech. For example, we often hear a beautiful child is as cute a kitten, or a clumsy person is like a bull in a china shop, or a mighty one is as strong as an ox.
Instead of using metaphor to show someone or something directly applies to someone or something else, we use simile to show someone or something is like someone or something else. The key word in using simile is like or as:
- The proud janitor moves her mop like a queen brandishing her staff.
- She entered the meeting like a general.
- The singer hits those high notes like an angel.
As with metaphor, we can use simile in writing at work. In fact, we do when we write, "Our office gets as hectic as rush hour in Times Square," or "Business in the personal protective equipment industry during the pandemic has soared like a meteor."
Using simile paints pictures for our readers like no other literary device, so invent some.
