Simile

A simile is a trope that figuratively juxtaposes two objects or phenomena by a common feature, using the conjunctions "like," "as," "as if," "as though," or the instrumental case or words such as "similar," "resembling." Unlike metaphor, where the transfer of meaning is hidden, in a simile both members of the juxtaposition are named openly. A simile specifies and visualises the image, making the unknown comprehensible through the known and the abstract through the concrete. Simple similes are distinguished from extended (Homeric) ones, which grow into an independent picture. The simile is one of the most ancient and natural means of imagery, widely represented in the folklore, poetry and literary prose of all peoples.