Similes

A simile compares two things with as or like. As brave as a lion does not mean the person is a lion. It means very brave. The picture helps the reader see the idea.

Use the meaning column to check the feeling, then borrow one example and change the names to fit your story. A few similes are repeated. Keep the row that matches your sentence, and skip the blank ones. One or two similes in a composition are enough.

1. Similes Describing People (1–20)

No.	Simile	Meaning	Example 1	Example 2
1	as brave as a lion	Very brave	The firefighter was as brave as a lion.	The boy stood as brave as a lion when facing the bully.
2	as gentle as a lamb	Very kind and gentle	My grandmother is as gentle as a lamb.	She spoke to the crying child as gentle as a lamb.
3	as busy as a bee	Very active and hardworking	My mother is as busy as a bee every morning.	The students worked as busy as bees to finish the project.
4	as wise as an owl	Very wise	My grandfather is as wise as an owl.	The old man gave advice as wise as an owl.
5	as strong as an ox	Very strong	The wrestler was as strong as an ox.	He lifted the heavy box as strong as an ox.
6	as tall as a giraffe	Very tall	The basketball player was as tall as a giraffe.	The tree stood as tall as a giraffe.
7	as quiet as a mouse	Very quiet	She was as quiet as a mouse during the lesson.	He tiptoed as quiet as a mouse into the room.
8	as cunning as a fox	Very clever in a tricky way	The thief was as cunning as a fox.	He came up with a plan as cunning as a fox.
9	as proud as a peacock	Very proud	She walked as proud as a peacock after winning.	He felt as proud as a peacock when he received the award.
10	as stubborn as a mule	Very unwilling to change	My brother can be as stubborn as a mule.	She refused to listen and was as stubborn as a mule.
11	as cheerful as a lark	Very happy and lively	She woke up as cheerful as a lark.	The little girl sang as cheerful as a lark.
12	as graceful as a swan	Very elegant and smooth	The dancer moved as graceful as a swan.	She walked as graceful as a swan across the stage.
13	as sly as a fox	Clever and tricky	The boy was as sly as a fox when he hid the toy.	He came up with an excuse as sly as a fox.
14	as innocent as a lamb	Pure and without guilt	The baby looked as innocent as a lamb.	She smiled as innocent as a lamb after making the mess.
15	as loyal as a dog	Very faithful	My pet is as loyal as a dog.	He stood by his friend as loyal as a dog.
16	as fierce as a tiger	Very aggressive or strong	The wrestler looked as fierce as a tiger.	She fought back as fierce as a tiger.
17	as clumsy as an elephant	Very awkward and uncoordinated	He is as clumsy as an elephant when he dances.	She dropped the glass as clumsy as an elephant.
18	as sweet as honey	Very kind and pleasant	Her voice was as sweet as honey.	The old lady spoke to us as sweet as honey.
19	as cold as ice	Very unfriendly or emotionless	His reply was as cold as ice.	She gave him a look as cold as ice.
20	as light as a feather	Very light in weight	The box was as light as a feather.	She picked up the baby as light as a feather.

2. Similes Describing Feelings & Emotions (21–40)

No.	Simile	Meaning	Example 1	Example 2
21	as happy as a lark	Very happy	She was as happy as a lark on her birthday.	He felt as happy as a lark after winning the prize.
22	as sad as a weeping willow	Very sad	She looked as sad as a weeping willow.	He felt as sad as a weeping willow when his pet died.
23	as nervous as a kitten	Very nervous	I was as nervous as a kitten before the performance.	She felt as nervous as a kitten during the interview.
24	as angry as a bull	Very angry	He was as angry as a bull when he found out.	She stormed off as angry as a bull.
25	as scared as a rabbit	Very frightened	He was as scared as a rabbit during the thunderstorm.	The child hid as scared as a rabbit under the blanket.
26	as excited as a child on Christmas morning	Very excited	She was as excited as a child on Christmas morning.	He was as excited as a child on Christmas morning before the trip.
27	as proud as a peacock	Very proud (already listed)	—	—
28	as calm as a cucumber	Very calm and relaxed	She remained as calm as a cucumber during the emergency.	He stayed as calm as a cucumber even when things went wrong.
29	as worried as a mother hen	Very worried	She was as worried as a mother hen when her son was late.	He felt as worried as a mother hen before the results came out.
30	as lonely as a cloud	Feeling very alone	He felt as lonely as a cloud after his friend moved away.	She sat as lonely as a cloud in the corner.
31	as free as a bird	Feeling free and happy	After the exams, I felt as free as a bird.	She ran through the field as free as a bird.
32	as cold as ice	Emotionally cold (already listed)	—	—
33	as light as a feather	Feeling light and happy	After hearing the good news, she felt as light as a feather.	He walked as light as a feather after winning.
34	as heavy as lead	Feeling very sad or burdened	Her heart felt as heavy as lead.	He walked with steps as heavy as lead after the bad news.
35	as bright as the sun	Very cheerful and positive	Her smile was as bright as the sun.	She greeted everyone as bright as the sun.
36	as gentle as a dove	Very kind and peaceful	Her voice was as gentle as a dove.	He spoke to the animals as gentle as a dove.
37	as fierce as a lion	Very strong and determined	She fought back as fierce as a lion.	He protected his sister as fierce as a lion.
38	as playful as a kitten	Full of energy and fun	The children were as playful as kittens.	He was as playful as a kitten during recess.
39	as miserable as sin	Extremely unhappy	He looked as miserable as sin after losing.	She felt as miserable as sin when her friend ignored her.
40	as cheerful as the morning sun	Very happy and bright	She woke up as cheerful as the morning sun.	His laughter was as cheerful as the morning sun.

3. Similes Describing Actions & Movements (41–60)

No.	Simile	Meaning	Example 1	Example 2
41	as fast as lightning	Very fast	He ran as fast as lightning.	The car sped away as fast as lightning.
42	as slow as a snail	Very slow	She walked as slow as a snail.	The old man moved as slow as a snail.
43	as quick as a flash	Extremely fast	She answered as quick as a flash.	He disappeared as quick as a flash.
44	as quiet as a mouse	Very quiet (already listed)	—	—
45	as loud as thunder	Very loud	His voice was as loud as thunder.	The music played as loud as thunder.
46	as graceful as a swan	Very elegant (already listed)	—	—
47	as clumsy as an elephant	Very awkward (already listed)	—	—
48	as strong as an ox	Very strong (already listed)	—	—
49	as light as a feather	Very light (already listed)	—	—
50	as heavy as an elephant	Very heavy	The box was as heavy as an elephant.	He felt as heavy as an elephant after eating too much.
51	as busy as a beaver	Very hardworking	She worked as busy as a beaver all day.	The students were as busy as beavers preparing for the concert.
52	as slippery as an eel	Difficult to hold or catch	The fish was as slippery as an eel.	He was as slippery as an eel and escaped easily.
53	as steady as a rock	Very stable and reliable	He stood as steady as a rock.	Her hands were as steady as a rock during the operation.
54	as smooth as silk	Very smooth	Her skin was as smooth as silk.	The ride was as smooth as silk.
55	as rough as sandpaper	Very rough	His hands were as rough as sandpaper.	The road was as rough as sandpaper.
56	as sharp as a knife	Very sharp (literally or mentally)	His mind was as sharp as a knife.	The blade was as sharp as a knife.
57	as soft as butter	Very soft	The pillow was as soft as butter.	Her voice was as soft as butter.
58	as hard as nails	Very tough or strict	The coach was as hard as nails.	He worked as hard as nails to succeed.
59	as clear as crystal	Very clear	Her explanation was as clear as crystal.	The water in the lake was as clear as crystal.
60	as dark as night	Very dark	The room was as dark as night.	His future looked as dark as night.

4. Similes Describing Nature & Weather (61–80)

No.	Simile	Meaning	Example 1	Example 2
61	as white as snow	Very white	Her dress was as white as snow.	The mountain peak was as white as snow.
62	as black as coal	Very dark or black	The sky was as black as coal.	His heart felt as black as coal after the betrayal.
63	as blue as the sky	Very blue	Her eyes were as blue as the sky.	The ocean was as blue as the sky.
64	as green as grass	Very green	The field was as green as grass.	Her garden was as green as grass.
65	as red as a rose	Very red	Her cheeks were as red as a rose.	The apple was as red as a rose.
66	as bright as the sun	Very bright	Her smile was as bright as the sun.	The light was as bright as the sun.
67	as cold as ice	Very cold (already listed)	—	—
68	as hot as fire	Very hot	The sun was as hot as fire.	His temper was as hot as fire.
69	as dry as a bone	Very dry	The desert was as dry as a bone.	His throat was as dry as a bone after running.
70	as wet as a fish	Very wet	He came home as wet as a fish.	The clothes were as wet as a fish after the rain.
71	as light as air	Very light	She felt as light as air after the good news.	The balloon floated as light as air.
72	as heavy as lead	Very heavy (already listed)	—	—
73	as still as a statue	Completely still	He stood as still as a statue.	The lake was as still as a statue.
74	as wild as the wind	Uncontrolled and free	The children ran as wild as the wind.	Her hair flew as wild as the wind.
75	as gentle as a breeze	Very soft and pleasant	Her touch was as gentle as a breeze.	The music was as gentle as a breeze.
76	as loud as a thunderstorm	Very loud	His voice was as loud as a thunderstorm.	The music played as loud as a thunderstorm.
77	as peaceful as a dove	Very calm and peaceful	The village was as peaceful as a dove.	She felt as peaceful as a dove after praying.
78	as fresh as a daisy	Looking fresh and energetic	She looked as fresh as a daisy even after working all day.	He woke up as fresh as a daisy.
79	as pure as driven snow	Completely pure	Her heart was as pure as driven snow.	The water was as pure as driven snow.
80	as dark as midnight	Very dark	The forest was as dark as midnight.	His mood was as dark as midnight.

5. Similes Describing Sounds & Atmosphere (81–95)

No.	Simile	Meaning	Example 1	Example 2
81	as loud as thunder	Very loud (already listed)	—	—
82	as quiet as a whisper	Very soft and quiet	She spoke as quiet as a whisper.	The wind blew as quiet as a whisper.
83	as silent as the grave	Completely silent	The room was as silent as the grave.	Everyone sat as silent as the grave after the announcement.
84	as noisy as a market	Very noisy	The classroom was as noisy as a market.	The street was as noisy as a market.
85	as sweet as music	Very pleasant to hear	Her voice was as sweet as music.	The sound of the piano was as sweet as music.
86	as harsh as nails on a chalkboard	Very unpleasant sound	His voice was as harsh as nails on a chalkboard.	The sound was as harsh as nails on a chalkboard.
87	as clear as a bell	Very clear sound	Her voice rang out as clear as a bell.	The announcement was as clear as a bell.
88	as soft as a whisper	Very gentle sound	She sang as soft as a whisper.	The breeze moved as soft as a whisper.
89	as heavy as thunder	Sound that feels heavy	The silence was as heavy as thunder.	His words fell as heavy as thunder.
90	as peaceful as a sleeping baby	Very calm atmosphere	The house was as peaceful as a sleeping baby.	The classroom became as peaceful as a sleeping baby after the teacher spoke.
91	as tense as a drawn bow	Full of tension	The atmosphere was as tense as a drawn bow.	Everyone sat as tense as a drawn bow waiting for the results.
92	as still as death	Extremely still and quiet	The forest was as still as death.	The room fell as still as death when the principal entered.
93	as lively as a carnival	Full of energy and fun	The party was as lively as a carnival.	The classroom was as lively as a carnival during art class.
94	as gloomy as a graveyard	Very sad and depressing	The house felt as gloomy as a graveyard.	His face looked as gloomy as a graveyard.
95	as bright as day	Very bright and clear	The future looked as bright as day.	The room was as bright as day after she opened the curtains.

6. Similes Describing Speed & Size (96–100)

No.	Simile	Meaning	Example 1	Example 2
96	as fast as lightning	Very fast (already listed)	—	—
97	as slow as a tortoise	Very slow	He walked as slow as a tortoise.	The old computer worked as slow as a tortoise.
98	as big as an elephant	Very large	The suitcase was as big as an elephant.	The problem seemed as big as an elephant.
99	as small as a pea	Very tiny	The baby’s hand was as small as a pea.	The chance of winning was as small as a pea.
100	as quick as a wink	Extremely fast	She finished the work as quick as a wink.	He disappeared as quick as a wink.