Metaphor Definition

A word or phrase used to have a completely different meaning.

Metaphor Poem Example

Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" being a constant reminder of his loss and not truly a raven.

[n] 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

See Also...

dead metaphor, figure, figure of speech, frozen metaphor, image, mixed metaphor, synesthetic metaphor, trope

Related Terms

accordance, agent, agreement, alikeness, allegory, alliance, alliteration, allusion, alternate, alternative, anacoluthon, anadiplosis, analogue, analogy, anaphora, anastrophe, antiphrasis, antithesis, antonomasia, aping, apophasis, aporia, aposiopesis, ap

Misc. Definitions

\Met"a*phor\, n. [F. m['e]taphore, L. metaphora, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to carry over, transfer; meta` beyond, over + fe`rein to bring, bear.] (Rhet.) 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. --Abbott & Seeley. ``All the world's a stage.'' --Shak. Note: The statement, ``that man is a fox,'' is a metaphor; but ``that man is like a fox,'' is a simile, similitude, or comparison.