a metaphor

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A way of describing something by calling it another thing that shares a similar quality, without using 'like' or 'as'.

   Grammar: Often used with 'for': a metaphor for life. Use 'a' or a plural: a metaphor; metaphors.

   Patterns

   • a metaphor for something
   • use a metaphor
   • mix metaphors

   The writer uses the sea as a metaphor for freedom.

   Calling the city a jungle is a metaphor for its wild, crowded life.

   Her poetry is full of metaphors about light and darkness.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   A symbol or image that represents a general idea or condition.

   Grammar: Often followed by 'of' or 'for': a metaphor of hope; a metaphor for change.

   Patterns

   • a metaphor of something
   • a metaphor for something

   The empty house became a metaphor of loneliness.

   In the novel, the broken bridge is a metaphor for the divided country.

Word forms

Common combinations

a metaphor for something

The journey is a metaphor for personal growth.

use a metaphor

The teacher asked us to use a metaphor in our poem.

mixed metaphor

Mixing metaphors can make your writing confusing.

extended metaphor

The poem is an extended metaphor about a ship at sea.

Synonyms and how they differ

image

An image is a picture created by words; a metaphor is a specific comparison that says one thing is another.

symbol

A symbol stands for an idea, often an object, while a metaphor is a comparison in language.

Word family

metaphorical adjective

Used to describe language that contains metaphors.

metaphorically adverb

In a way that uses metaphor; not literally.

Commonly confused: a metaphor or simile? a metaphor or analogy?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “a metaphor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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