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metaphor

Also known as metaphors

thumb|upright=1.35|1835 etching by George Cruikshank illustrating the metaphor of describing strong weather as "raining cats, dogs and pitchforks" A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for literary effect, refers to one thing by mentioning another. Thus, it invites the audience to make a comparison between two normally unrelated entities or ideas, which may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between them. Metaphors are usually meant to create a likeness or an analogy.

AI overview

A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes one thing by referring to another, normally unrelated thing—inviting readers or listeners to make a comparison that can reveal hidden similarities or clarify ideas. Metaphors matter because they allow us to understand complex or abstract concepts by connecting them to more familiar experiences, and they add creative power to language and literature.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Research

9,209 papers

Metaphor processing: Referring and predicating.ReviewCognition · 2023Carston R, Yan XDOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105534
Neural network of metaphor comprehension: an ALE meta-analysis and MACM analysis.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2023Huang Y, Huang J, Li L et al.DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad337
Metaphor: Bridging embodiment to abstraction.ReviewPsychonomic bulletin & review · 2016Jamrozik A, McQuire M, Cardillo ER et al.DOI: 10.3758/s13423-015-0861-0
How Linguistic Metaphor Scaffolds Reasoning.ReviewTrends in cognitive sciences · 2017Thibodeau PH, Hendricks RK, Boroditsky LDOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2017.07.001
Pragmatic complexity in metaphor interpretation.ReviewCognition · 2023Gibbs RW JrDOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105455
Automatic metaphor processing in developmental dyslexia.Journal of communication disorders · 2024Cersosimo R, Domaneschi F, Al-Azary HDOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106448
Use of metaphor in provider-patient communication in medical settings: A systematic review.Patient education and counseling · 2025Liu XDOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2025.109184
The effect of the brightness metaphor on memory.Psychological research · 2022Zhang S, Zheng J, Mo LDOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01611-5

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Wikidata facts

Image: Puck magazine cover 2 May 1894 - In the cyclone cellar, waiting for fair weather.jpg

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Commons category: Metaphors

Sources (6)

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~28 min read

Article

21 sections

Contents

Etymology
Parts of a metaphor
As a type of comparison
Metaphor vs metonymy
Subtypes
Absolute metaphor
In rhetoric and literature
As style in speech and writing
Larger applications
Conceptual metaphors
As a foundation of our conceptual system
Nonlinguistic metaphors
In historical linguistics
Historical theories
Psychological effects
See also
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
External links

Scholars group metaphors with other types of figurative language, such as hyperbole and metonymy. Metaphors are most similar to similes, except in metaphor the comparison is implied or assumed whereas the extra wording of a simile makes the comparison more obvious or explicit. According to Grammarly, "Figurative language examples include similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, allusions, and idioms." One of the most commonly cited examples of a metaphor in English literature comes from the "All the world's a stage" monologue from As You Like It: