What Is a Metaphor (with Examples)

What Is a Metaphor? (with Examples)

A metaphor asserts that one thing is something that it literally is not. A metaphor is a figure of speech.

Examples of Metaphors

Here are some examples of metaphors:

She is a fox.
Dave is a bad apple.
His face was a blue moon pocked with craters.
Her eyes were darting searchlights, scanning the room for her rival.
An icy stare

Metaphors are not always easy to spot. They are not always in the form "A = B" like the first four examples above. Sometimes, a metaphor is an adjective that modifies a noun, as in the fifth example.

The bottom line is this: If something is being re-identified as (i.e., not compared to) something that it literally is not, then you're looking at a metaphor.

Famous Metaphors (Examples)

Here are some metaphors by famous people:

Conscience is a man’s compass.
All religions, arts, and sciences are branches of the same tree.
All at once he was alone in this noisy hive with no place to roost.

Funny Metaphors (Examples)

Here are some funny metaphors:

Love is an exploding cigar we willingly smoke.
John and Mary had never met. They were two hummingbirds who had also never met.
True friends stab you in the front.

A Quick Test

Take the similes test.

METAPHORS CAN BE IMPACTFUL

Used sparingly in business writing (e.g., just once in the occasional document), metaphors can:

Be memorable.
Make an impact.
Be used for emphasis.
Make you look confident.

Here is an example of how a metaphor might look in a business document:

Option 1 is throwing the pilot from a stricken aircraft to make it lighter.

OVERUSE OF METAPHORS

While a metaphor can be a great way to clarify or promote an idea in a business document, the overuse of metaphors looks flippant. Metaphors which are cliches (i.e., a tired metaphor) also look bad.

Use metaphors very sparingly in business writing to ensure they remain impactful.

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