Definitions for metaphor
ˈmɛt əˌfɔr, -fərmetaphor

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.1 / 8 votes

1. metaphornoun

   a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.3 / 4 votes

1. metaphornoun

   The use of a word or phrase to refer to something that it isn't, invoking a direct similarity between the word or phrase used and the thing described, but in the case of English without the words like or as, which would imply a simile.

2. metaphornoun

   The word or phrase used in this way. An implied comparison.

3. Etymology: From metaphora, from μεταφορά, from μεταφέρω, from μετά + φέρω

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. METAPHORnoun

   The application of a word to an use to which, in its original import, it cannot be put: as, he bridles his anger; he deadens the sound; the spring awakes the flowers.

   Etymology: metaphore, Fr. μετάφορα.

   A metaphor is a simile comprized in a word; the spring putting in action the powers of vegetation, which were torpid in the winter, as the powers of a sleeping animal are excited by awaking him.

   The work of tragedy is on the passions, and in a dialogue; both of them abhor strong metaphors, in which the epopœa delights. John Dryden, Virgil’s Æneis. Ded. to.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 2 votes

1. Metaphornoun

   the transference of the relation between one set of objects to another set for the purpose of brief explanation; a compressed simile; e. g., the ship plows the sea

2. Etymology: [F. mtaphore, L. metaphora, fr. Gr. metafora`, fr. metafe`rein to carry over, transfer; meta` beyond, over + fe`rein to bring, bear.]

FreebaseRate this definition:4.3 / 3 votes

1. Metaphor

   A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes a subject by asserting that it is, on some point of comparison, the same as another otherwise unrelated object. Metaphor is a type of analogy and is closely related to other rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via association, comparison or resemblance including allegory, hyperbole, and simile. In simpler terms, a metaphor compares two objects or things without using the words "like" or "as". One of the most prominent examples of a metaphor in English literature is the All the world's a stage monologue from As You Like It: This quote is a metaphor because the world is not literally a stage. By figuratively asserting that the world is a stage, Shakespeare uses the points of comparison between the world and a stage to convey an understanding about the mechanics of the world and the lives of the people within it.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Metaphor

   met′a-fur, n. a transference of meaning, the putting of one thing for another which it only resembles, as when words are said to be bitter: an implicit simile.—adjs. Metaphor′ic, -al, pertaining to, or containing, metaphor: figurative.—adv. Metaphor′ically.—ns. Metaphor′icalness; Met′aphorist.—Mixed metaphor, an expression in which two or more metaphors are confused, where one only is capable of being intelligibly evolved or conceived objectively, as Cromwell's 'God has kindled a seed in this nation.' [Fr.,—Gr. metaphora—metapherein—meta, over, pherein, to carry.]

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Metaphor

   The application of a concept to that which it is not literally the same but which suggests a resemblance and comparison. Medical metaphors were widespread in ancient literature; the description of a sick body was often used by ancient writers to define a critical condition of the State, in which one corrupt part can ruin the entire system. (From Med Secoli Arte Sci, 1990;2(3):abstract 331)

Matched Categories

1. • Trope

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'metaphor' in Nouns Frequency: #2660

Anagrams for metaphor »

1. trophema

How to pronounce metaphor?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say metaphor in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of metaphor in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of metaphor in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of metaphor in a Sentence

1. Kanye West:

   I was so self-conscious about the nanny and the housekeeper that I didn't want them to hear me screaming in the living room, i think that that's such a metaphor of something for the existence of so-called well-off people that they're not really well-off -- they won't even scream in their own house.

2. Richard Haass:

   You have civil wars, you have proxy wars. You have regional wars all in one, and these things have so many logs on the fire, to use the metaphor, that they ... burn and burn and burn for a long time.

3. Edward Shumaker:

   It's certainly not impossible but -- to use a sports metaphor from diving -- the degree of difficulty would be quite significant.

4. Jose Ortega y Gasset:

   The metaphor is perhaps one of man's most fruitful potentialities. Its efficacy verges on magic, and it seems a tool for creation which God forgot inside one of His creatures when He made him.

5. Haimer abdou:

   The homeland is a language and exile is a metaphor

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