Simile Examples

Simile is a form of figurative language that can be used as a literary technique. A simile is a way to compare two different things using the connecting words “like” or “as” in order to make an interesting connection in the reader’s mind.  For more information on how to identify and use simile in writing, please check out the article, What is a Simile?  If you want practice with similes, please check out our free, printable simile worksheets. Read on for 30 examples of simile, including many simile examples from literature.

Examples of Simile

1. The cheese on this pizza is as hot as lava!
2. The girl’s laugh is as pretty as bird song.
3. Sleeping on my bed is like floating on a cloud.
4. The snow makes everything quiet and still, like a big white quilt thrown over the city.
5. Her eyes flashed dark as night.
6. He looked as happy as a cat in a sunbeam.
7. The children tore open their Christmas presents like wild animals set loose on their prey.
8. The stack of pancakes was as tall as she was!
9. My mother’s voice was as familiar as the birds chirping outside my window.
10. My father ate mashed potatoes like he was trying to win a contest.
11. Her hair was like strands of silk from a spider’s web.
12. The car was a bright shiny red, as fresh and tart as an apple.
13. He went off like a rocket on his new bike.
14. She felt like a kid in a candy store as she looked at all the beautiful jewelry on display.
15. Our family was like a strong tree with many beautiful branches.

Simile Examples From Literature

The following examples are all quoted from various works of literature, including poems, plays, stories, essays and novels.

1. “He walked Seabiscuit through the masses of shouting fans to the winner’s circle. The horse was strutting like a prizefighter.” – Laura Hillenbrand
2. “What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?” – Langston Hughes
3. “Insanity hovered close at hand, like an eager waiter at an expensive restaurant.” – Arundahti Roy
4. “Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow.” – Abraham Lincoln
5. “He had electric blue hair that had stuck around his head like tendrils of a startled octopus.” – Cassandra Clare
6. “Her father had inherited that temper; and at times, like antelope fleeing before fire on the slope, his people fled from his red rages.” – Zane Grey
7. “That was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as if struck by a pistol shot.” – Kate Chopin
8. “The water made a sound like kittens lapping.” – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
9. “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
10. “Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don’t always like.” – Lemony Snicket
11. “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.” – Frank Zappa
12. “It was a smooth silvery voice that matched her hair. It had a tiny tinkle in it, like bells in a doll’s house.” – Raymond Chandler
13. “Nanny’s words made Janie’s kiss across the gatepost seem like a manure pile after a rain.” – Zora Neal Hurston
14. “The moon was a crescent, thin and sharp as the blade of a knife.” – George R.R. Martin
15. “He yawned like a black bear coming out of hibernation.” – Dennis Vickers

Check out our free, printable Simile Worksheets.