##  [Simile](/writing-tips-plus/simile-)

## Accéder à du contenu similaire en français

Du contenu semblable en français est présenté dans l’article [Comparaison (figure de style)](/fr/cles-de-la-redaction/comparaison-figure-de-style).

## On this page

- [Definition](#definition)
- [Clichés](#cliches)
- [Similes from literature](#literature)
- [Additional information](#additional-information)

## Definition

A simile is a figure of speech that highlights the similarities between two ideas, using the words **like** or **as**. A simile usually compares two things in a way that helps the reader form a mental picture.

- The soft mattress felt **like a cloud** to Karl after a long day of physical labour.
- After finishing her last exam, Alina felt **as light as a feather**.

In these examples, the writer compares Karl’s bed to a cloud and Alina’s sense of buoyancy to the lightness of a feather. The effect on the reader is a clear mental image of comfort or relief.

## Clichés

When a simile is so overused that it loses its effect in a written text, it’s called a cliché.

Although clichés are easily understood, they lack originality and impact, because they’re so commonplace. While clichés can be very useful in conversation, they should be avoided in formal writing.

- as clear as day
- as red as a beet
- like two peas in a pod
- like water on a duck’s back

## Similes from literature

When you use unexpected similes, you capture the reader’s attention and create a stronger mental image. Here are some examples from Canadian authors and poets:

> And there when lengthening twilights fall
> As softly as a wild bird’s wing …

—Bliss Carman

> Here and there a wild plum leaned out from the bank like a white-clad girl tip-toeing to her own reflection.

—L. M. Montgomery

> Moments before sleep are when she feels most alive, leaping across fragments of the day, bringing each moment into the bed with her like a child with schoolbooks and pencils.

—Michael Ondaatje

> Out of the jargoning city I regret,
> Rise memories like sparrows rising from
> The gutter-scattered oats,
> Like sadness sweet of synagogal hum,
> Like Hebrew violins
> Sobbing delight upon their Eastern notes

—A. M. Klein

## Additional information

- [Similes: As easy as ABC!](/en/quiz/similes-as-easy-as-abc-eng) (quiz)
- [Similes: As easy as pie!](/en/quiz/similes-as-easy-as-pie-eng) (quiz)
- [Similes: Like taking candy from a baby!](/en/quiz/similes-like-taking-candy-from-a-baby-eng) (quiz)

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Un outil créé et mis en ligne par le Bureau de la traduction, Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada

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## Liens connexes

- [Writing Tips Plus](/fr/writing-tips-plus/index-fra) (page d’accueil)
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