Words Like and Unlike Other Words

I've been wondering about the difference between a metaphor, an analogy, and a simile... I don't know why the distinction suddenly felt so important that I needed to look it up. Here are some fun words I found once I fell into the rabbit hole.

When this reminds you of that
Metaphors and similes are both figures of speech, a quick little something you'd use in a sentence.

Specifically, a Metaphor implies a comparison by directly saying one thing is something else: His love was a midnight train. A Simile is a type of metaphor that compares two things in much the same way, using a word such as "like" or "as" for the comparison: His love was like a midnight train.

Instead of being a figure of speech, analogies sit in a separate class. An Analogy is a comparison that uses similarities between two things to make, explain, or expand a point: Sometimes, heartbreak is like boarding a midnight train -- tired and bleary-eyed, you ride through darkness toward a new day and a new destination.

And an Allegory is a story in which people, things, happenings have hidden or symbolic meanings. "There once was a midnight train that tried to get up a steep hill..."

When this is not that

I really like the nuance among these words that point out differences.

Two things or ideas that are Distinct are definitely different, regardless of any similarities. Those things become Disparate when there are quintessential differences that demonstrate an absence of any relationship between the two. And ideas are Antithetical when they are as far away from each other as possible.

Things are Divergent when they started off identical or similar and branched off into different directions, never to meet again.

Contrary concepts are opposite, perhaps with bad vibes and a hint (or more) of antagonism or conflict.

Finally, the word antonym is common enough: words that have opposite meanings. The word Antonymous is useful when describing ideas that have opposite meanings.