simile
in
Oliver Twist
(Auto-generated)

a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things—usually using the words "like" or "as" — as in, "She is as quiet as a mouse."

While metaphors and similes are both techniques of figurative language. The distinction is that a simile explicitly shows that a comparison is being made, by using words such as like or as. A metaphor simply substitutes words assuming the reader will understand that the meaning should not be taken literally.

"She is like a diamond in the rough" is a simile; while "She is a diamond in the rough" is a metaphor.