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Simile

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A figure of speech that explicitly compares two unlike things using “like” or “as” to clarify, intensify, or illuminate meaning.

Detailed Definition
A simile is a direct comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as” to clarify or intensify imagery—such as “My love is like a red, red rose”—and is fundamental to poetic description, enabling readers to grasp abstract emotions through concrete, sensory parallels.
Example
Example in poetry:
Simile: “My love is like a red, red rose” (Burns); “Busy as a bee” in nursery rhymes; Plath’s “Like a cat, I have nine times to die”; Similes clarify abstract emotions through concrete comparison
Additional Notes
Simile: A comparison using “like” or “as” (e.g., “My love is like a red, red rose”); makes abstract ideas vivid; differs from metaphor by maintaining separation between compared elements.
Other Meanings of “Simile”
Also Known As
Explicit comparison Like-as figure Stated analogy Direct comparison Comparaison Comparison
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