Simile Examples for Kids

The use of figurative language us to convey the power of language.

Similes, even if it is one of the most basic figures of speech, is used in our speeches and even in our daily conversations in order to make explanations more understandable and words more vivid and powerful.

The use of simile can be quite tricky for kids. Help them understand and learn more about similes through these examples.

Defining Simile

A simile is a figurative device that gives you the ability to compare the similarities of two different things.

In using this figurative device, you have to use the words like and as.

Simile vs. Metaphor

The figures of speech simile and metaphor can be tricky for kids to differentiate.

In order for them to easily identify the difference, make sure that they know that a statement uses simile if it uses the words like and as in associating two different things. On the other hand, metaphors would be associating the common ground of two different things straight up and it does not deliberately state comparisons between two things.

Refer to this example:

• Simile: Life is like a dream.
• Metaphor: Life is but a dream.

Where to Find Similes?

Similes are found in poetry and children’s books. It is also used in nursery rhymes like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. It is also used in advertising because it is helpful in making products and services sell. Song lyrics are also abundant of similes. It helps songs sound catchy.

How Can We Use Similes?

Similes can be used by children when they are to write poems or short stories. They can also use it even in their everyday conversation with the people around them. Using similes can help kids in making their written compositions engaging. It will also make their conversations fun.

Examples of Simile

Here are examples of simile that are used in a sentence that can be understood well by kids:

Examples of Similes Using ‘As’

These simile examples follow the ‘as __ as’ format:

1. The clouds were as big as an elephant.
2. Anna is as sly as a fox.
3. Brian’s face was as clear as day.
4. Carson’s hair is as dark as the night.
5. Her skin is as dry as a bone.
6. Her attitude towards him is as cold as ice.
7. Maria’s schedule makes her as busy as a bee.
8. Martin’s wit is as sharp as a needle.
9. Jerry’s grandfather is as tough as an old boot.
10. The test questions were as easy as a pie.
11. My father’s love for my mother is as deep as the ocean.
12. The office is as clean as a whistle.
13. She is as strong as an ox
14. They were as different as salt and pepper but they are still together.
15. The troops sent to the war were as brave as lions.

Examples of Similes Using ‘Like’

These simile examples follow the ‘__ like __ ’ format:

1. She came into the room looking like a fish out of the water.
2. When I gave her the present, her eyes twinkled like the stars.
3. Maria was so exhausted from work that she slept like a log.
4. The pilot maneuvered the plane like an eagle.
5. Perry was famished that he ate like a pig.
6. My parents are sweet like sugar.
7. Life is full of surprises it’s like a box of assorted chocolates.
8. The first placer ran like lightning during the race.
9. Her skin is soft like velvet
10. My sister and I are like two peas in a pod.
11. Her cheeks are red like roses.
12. Chris’ voice is so clear it sounds like a bell.
13. My life is like an open book.
14. I feel like a couch potato today.
15. That house is built like a rock.

Examples of Similes in Literature

Literature has made use of simile in order to deliver effective comparisons. Here are some examples of similes used in literature. Take note of the words in bold:

1. “Her romantic mind was like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East . . .” — Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie.

2 . “. . . when I laid down the paper, I was aware of a flash — rush — flow — I do not know what to call it — no word I can find is satisfactorily descriptive — in which I seemed to see that bedroom passing through my room, like a picture impossibly painted on a running river. — To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt, by Charles Dickens

3. “. . . utterly absorbed by the curious experience that still clung to him like a garment.” — Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas

4. “She entered with an ungainly struggle like some huge awkward chicken, torn, squawking, out of its coop.” — The Adventure of the Three Gables, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

5. “He looks like right after the maul hits the steer and it no longer alive and don’t yet know that it is dead.” — As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner

6. “Her father had inherited that temper; and at times, like antelope fleeing before the fire on the slope, his people fled from his red rages.” — Riders of the Purple Sage, by Zane Grey

7. “The very mystery of him excited her curiosity like a door that had neither lock nor key.” — Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

8. “Elderly American ladies leaning on their canes listed toward me like towers of Pisa.” — Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

9. “The water made a sound like kittens lapping.” — The Yearling, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

10.  “Kate inched over her own thoughts like a measuring worm.” — East of Eden, by John Steinbeck

11. “. . . impressions poured in upon her of those two men, and to follow her thought was like following a voice which speaks too quickly to be taken down by one’s pencil . . .” — To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf

12. “Your teeth are like stars;
They come out at night.
They come back at dawn
When they’re ready to bite.” – Denise Rodgers

13. “Your feet smell so bad
Just like Limburger cheese
That I’m holding my nose tight
Between my two knees.”- Denise Rodgers

14. “Friends are like chocolate cake
You can never have too many.
Chocolate cake is like heaven –
Always amazing you with each taste or feeling.
Chocolate cake is like life with so many different pieces.
Chocolate cake is like happiness, you can never get enough of it.” – Author Unknown

15. “Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.”

16. “Death lies on her like an untimely frost.” – Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

17. “O my Luve’s like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve’s like the melodie
That’s sweetly played in tune.” – Robert Burns

18. “Peering through the drape
Of my synthetic cell,
How I long to escape
This manufactured hell.
Like a bruised, little bird
Too confused to fly,
I’m trapped, in a word,
So confined am I.
A captive, collared lion
Alone in its pen,
I’m pacin’ and dyin’
In a man-made den.
For an eagle was not meant
To be locked in a cage,
Its life to be spent
Like a picture on a page.
And when a mighty lion,
In truth, is but a cat,
It will spend its time tryin’
To be greater than that.” – Greater Than That

The use of simile is a great first step for kids to be able to write with more variety. Simile is like a freshly squeezed orange juice — it’s refreshing and healthy for you so use this figurative language more!