metaphor

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met·a·phor / ˈmetəˌfôr; -fər/ • n. a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable: “I had fallen through a trapdoor of depression,” said Mark, who was fond of theatrical metaphors | her poetry depends on suggestion and metaphor. ∎  a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, esp. something abstract: the amounts of money being lost by the company were enough to make it a metaphor for an industry that was teetering.DERIVATIVES: met·a·phor·ic / ˌmetəˈfôrik/ adj.met·a·phor·i·cal / ˌmetəˈfôrikəl/ adj.met·a·phor·i·cal·ly / ˌmetəˈfôrik(ə)lē/ adv.

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