What Is a Metaphor? (with Examples)

A metaphor asserts that one thing is something that it literally is not. A metaphor is a figure of speech.

Examples of Metaphors

Here are some examples of metaphors:

• She is a fox.
• Dave is a bad apple.
• His face was a blue moon pocked with craters.
• Her eyes were darting searchlights, scanning the room for her rival.
• An icy stare

Metaphors are not always easy to spot. They are not always in the form "A = B" like the first four examples above. Sometimes, a metaphor is an adjective that modifies a noun, as in the fifth example.

The bottom line is this: If something is being re-identified as (i.e., not compared to) something that it literally is not, then you're looking at a metaphor.

Famous Metaphors (Examples)

Here are some metaphors by famous people:

• Conscience is a man’s compass.
(Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890)
• All religions, arts, and sciences are branches of the same tree.
(Theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, 1879-1955)
• All at once he was alone in this noisy hive with no place to roost.
(Tom Wolfe)

Funny Metaphors (Examples)

Here are some funny metaphors:

• Love is an exploding cigar we willingly smoke.
• John and Mary had never met. They were two hummingbirds who had also never met.
• True friends stab you in the front.
(Oscar Wilde)