dead metaphor
dead metaphor · dead metaphors
A former metaphor which has in effect lost its metaphorical status and become literalA former metaphor which has in effect lost its metaphorical status and become literal.
Meaning
1 sensesA former metaphor which has in effect lost its metaphorical status and become literal.
More definitions
- a metaphor that has occurred so often that it has become a new meaning of the expression (e.g., ‘he is a snake’ may once have been a metaphor but after years of use it has died and become a new sense of the word ‘snake’)
Forms
plural: dead metaphors| Singular | dead metaphor |
|---|---|
| Plural | dead metaphors |
regular
Synonyms
1 synonymsClose in meaning
- a metaphor that has occurred so often that it has become a new meaning of the expression (e.g., ‘he is a snake’ may once have been a metaphor but after years of use it has died and become a new sense of the word ‘snake’):frozen metaphor
Word family
1 related wordsRelatedliteralization