analogy essay about love

An Analogy of Falling in Love

I used to think of cliché statements about relationships as empty. Mainstream sayings such as \”there is only one happiness in life to be loved and to love\” or \”distance means nothing when someone means everything\”. These repetitive notions about current deformed relationships lacks meaning and as people reuse these quotes over and over again, they grow even more insipid before becoming too repulsive to even hear, at least to me.

But then, as time passes (again, with time, realizations are born) I grew to understand that people don\’t use these boring googled words as some sort of prophecies from a love bible, they only utter these to reassure themselves. After all, humans are creatures with constant need for reassurance; love, goals, meaning, we, me included live with at least a certain thing to accomplish, a certain goal that we rely on to assure us that we are doing something useful. Devoid of objective, we become soulless. I’ve also realized that I dislike these quotes due to me not thinking of them in the right way, or rather, I\’m not feeling them. And speaking about feelings, I will never understand the need to cling to such words when I\’ve never experience something that forces me to do so.

It\’s like a pool of cold water. I know that the water in the pool is cold, but that\’s the only thing I know. To experience the coldness of the water, to actually understand the reality of the coldness of the water, I have to dive into it, or at the least, touch it (which is still not enough actually). And diving into the pool filled with cold water is quite literally what falling into love is. Of course, we can argue on how diving is a voluntary action, while falling in love can happen unanticipated. But that\’s not the point. The thing that draws the parallel between diving into a pool of cold water and falling in love is the sensation, the feeling, the experience. Suddenly, we\’re in a different surrounding and almost instantaneously, the sensation of coldness (or maybe warmth in case of love) surges into our conscience. What matters next is what we do while we\’re in the pool. Do we play it safe, and occasionally swim across the surface of the water, or will we decide to take the risk, and embrace the different experience of diving deeper? Then as we dive deeper, it is very important to rise back to the surface and take a breather so that we stay alive. Then, dive again. There\’s always a limit to everything, and in this case of diving, we should be careful not to dive too deeply or else, we might find ourselves too far from the surface. If we\’re lucky, maybe someone sees us, dives into the pool and pulls us back onto the side of the pool. But some people aren\’t that lucky, some people struggled till their last breath, losing their strength in the process, and quietly die. Some people, sadly, decided that they\’re going to die without even an ounce of struggle, and thus sealing their own fate willingly. Some people magically find the rush of adrenaline, the willpower that kicks them in the butt and reminds them to keep on living, forcing them to use all of their remaining life and swim to the surface, saving their own life, all by themselves.

The point is, what determines our fate in the situation of distress (in this case, a sort of dramatic love) relies on ourselves. And we also need to constantly be aware of the limits to which we can be in control, for example in the case of the sudden kick of adrenaline, the person who experience such thing isn\’t guaranteed of survival. What if the depth of him being immersed in the pool is too much, that he runs out of breath while he\’s struggling to reach the surface? In this case, the choice of what he did in the situation of distress didn\’t do him the disservice, but his initial decision to dive too deep into the pool, which might be reached due to the lack of awareness.

Still, this isn\’t a perfect analogy. For all we know, there\’s so much more to love than the temperature of water. Some \”pool\” might be warm, some might be so shallow that it gets boring quickly, some might resemble more of the Southern Ocean with its vicious waves than a quiet still pool water. With all that said, falling in love is like diving into a pool. As children, we used to be so excited of the sensation offered by the pool. But as we grow up, we become more conscious of the repercussions. We slowly learn the reasonable depth to which we can dive and become aware enough to leave the pool when the time to stop is up. We now know that the pool isn\’t the entirety of love but is just a part of the whole thing. It\’s fun but muddling in it won\’t bring any good.

The next stage is well, I can\’t find the right way to represent it but one day, hopefully I will. I have this view that if I can draw an analogy from a specific idea, I can pretty much conclude that I have understood it.

Written by Ahmad Nuruddin bin Azhar, Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering

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20+ Metaphors About Love From Popular Culture and Literature

Metaphors about love turn an abstract emotional concept into something readers can understand and relate to.

When it comes to topics of metaphors, love is a popular one. You don’t have to look far in literature or pop culture to see metaphors about love written in everything from fiction writing to songs. 

A conceptual metaphor is a figure of speech comparing two unlikely objects to demonstrate a shared characteristic. Metaphors of love often compare the feelings of love to something more tangible, giving the reader something to think about as they ponder their emotions. Like many metaphor examples from literature, it’s a useful writing technique.

As you consider metaphors of love, taking a look at metaphor examples from literature .

20 Common Metaphors About Love

1. love is a star:  william shakespeare, sonnet 116, 2. love is a journey: pablo neruda, sonnet 12, 3. love is a fire: leonard cohen, the energy of slaves, 4.  love is a bull: h. l. mencken, a little book in c major, 5. love is a plant: george granville, “the british enchanters”, 6. love is a beggar: corinne roosevelt robinson, “love is a beggar”, 7. “truck driving man” by mojave 3, 8. “i slipped, i stumbled, i fell” by ben weisman and fred wise, 9. “love is a rose” by linda ronstadt, 10. “love is my disease” by alicia keyes, 11. “burning love” by elvis presley , 12. love is a street: waiting to exhale, 13. love is a spice: seinfield, 14. love is a unity of two complementary parts: kövecses , 15. love is a container: lakoff and johnson, metaphors for love in everyday language , 17. a physical need, 18. a physical force , 19. a spark, 20. a force of nature, a final word on metaphors about love.

• What are metaphors for love in Romeo and Juliet?

What is a metaphor for love?

Comparing love to something else has become so commonplace, you can find these metaphors anywhere you look. From the sonnets of Shakespeare to the modern world of cinematography, here are 20 common metaphors that make this emotion easier to understand. You could even use them to write a love letter !

Love Metaphors from Literature

One of the first places to look for metaphors of love is literature. Here are some quotes from writers that use them often.

“Love is an ever-fixed mark; 

That looks on tempests and is never shaken; 

It is the star to every wandering bark; 

Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.”

Oh, love is a journey with water and stars, with drowning air and storms of flour.

“Love is a fire. It burns everyone. It disfigures everyone. It is the world’s excuse for being ugly.”

“Happiness is the china shop; love is the bull.”

“Love is a plant of the most tender kind,

That shrinks and shakes with every ruffling wind.”

“Love is a beggar, most importunate,

Uncalled he comes and makes his dear demands

He storms my heart which doth capitulate

And then he asks the homage of my hands.”

Metaphors of Love in Songs

It’s not surprising that many love songs are filled with metaphors of love. Some that you might be familiar with include these:

“Love is a truck and an open road

Somewhere to start and a place to go.”

“I look at you and wham, I’m head over heels.

I guess that love is a banana peel.

I feel so bad and yet I’m feeling so well.

I slipped, I stumbled, I fell”

“Love is a rose, but you better not pick it

Only grows when it’s on the vine

Handful of thorns, and you’ll know you’ve missed it

Lose your love when you say the word mine.”

“I thought love would be my cure

But now it’s my disease.”

“Your kisses lift me higher Like the sweet song of a choir You light my morning sky With burning love With burning love

I’m just a hunk, a hunk of burning love Just a hunk, a hunk of burning love”

Metaphors of Love in Movies

Many movie quotes have metaphors for love woven into them. Here are some good ones:

“They say love is a two-way street. But I don’t believe it, because the one I’ve been on for the last two years was a dirt road.”

“Love is a spice in many tastes, a dizzying array of textures and moments.”

Metaphors of Love in Philosophy

The world of philosophy also has several metaphors for love. The goal of these is to try to make sense out of something that’s difficult to explain, and they are often a study in linguistics. 

Most readers can picture unifying two complementary parts into one whole, which is what the metaphor shows.

George Lakoff and Mark Johnson proposed that  love is a container  that closes in the people as they move through the journey of the relationship. when you lose control the container is down, when you have control the container is up.

Some metaphors don’t originate in songs or literature, but they have woven themselves into our culture. Here are some comparisons you’ve probably heard:

Romantic love is often described as burning, and sexual attraction can be described as feeling that someone is “hot.” 

• He’s got the hots for the girl next door.
• I bumped into an old flame at the library.
• She melted into his arms.

Love relationships or the desire for them can cause a physical need, as in:

• I’m starved for attention.
• You take my breath away.
• All I need is love. 

This metaphor for love often shows up in discussions about falling in love, as in:

• I fell for him.
• Have you ever fallen in love?
• Looking at her makes me go weak at the knees.

It’s common to equate love with a spark that starts a flame, as in:

• There was a spark between us.
• They thought that spark could be the start of a beautiful romantic relationship. 

Several forces of nature are given as metaphors of love to highlight the intensity of loving another person. Some of these include:

• Sea of love
• Love is a tempest or storm
• Love is a flood

Loving another human being can be a messy experience. True love takes time to cultivate, and when we talk about love we often discuss metaphors.

Whether you’re comparing love to a beautiful summer day or are comparing it to a torturous disease, picking the right love metaphors will help you convey your intent to readers more easily. They can help you better understand the meaning of love, or you can incorporate them into your writing to help it be more colorful and engaging. For inspiration, check out our guide to essays about love .

FAQs About Metaphors About Love

What are metaphors for love in romeo and juliet .

Romeo and Juliet has many metaphors woven throughout the play. Some that relate to love include: “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs. ” “Is love a tender thing? It is too rough; Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn.”

Some metaphors for love include: Love is a rose Love is a storm Love is a fire Love is a nutrient

Nicole Harms has been writing professionally since 2006. She specializes in education content and real estate writing but enjoys a wide gamut of topics. Her goal is to connect with the reader in an engaging, but informative way. Her work has been featured on USA Today, and she ghostwrites for many high-profile companies. As a former teacher, she is passionate about both research and grammar, giving her clients the quality they demand in today's online marketing world.

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Love as Sickness: the Analogy Put to the Test

by Fabio Bacchini

2008, Medische Antropologie

The analogy between love and sickness is a powerful conceptual device that structures our understanding of love (and perhaps partly our understanding sickness, too). We grasp love in the way we do because we have this analogy in mind. My aim in this paper is, firstly, to explore some of the reasons that can be called up to justify the analogy. I will try to identify the properties that love and sickness can be considered to share. I will therefore point out that love and sickness are both characterized by being alterations, conditions demanding a solution, seeming inexplicable, being detectable by symptoms, and so on. These common traits can provide some foundations for the analogy. But a good analogy is not created just because some common traits exist: the shared properties need to be relevant, and the analogy should let us discover new, interesting things about our target concept. So my second question in this paper is: what can we learn about love if we take the analogy between love and sickness seriously? I will develop the analogy, and will try to examine whether some other important traits of sickness can nevertheless be discovered in love, and how they are disguised. Sick persons are not normally responsible for their condition; sickness has possible causes and possible effects; there are therapies, doctors, hospitals, contagion, right or wrong diagnoses; sickness has special relations with voluntariness, and with beliefs. What does all this become on the side of love? Is the analogy successful, or does it end in failure?

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Keith Green

2010, The Journal of Value Inquiry

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Raymond Bergner

2000, American Journal of Psychotherapy

It is vitally important that psychotherapists bring a strong understanding of the nature of love to their work with the many clients who are struggling, in one way or another, with love relationships. With this in mind, the present paper is designed to accomplish two purposes. The first of these is to provide an adequate answer to an old and perplexing question: “What is romantic love?”, and to do so in a way that illuminates why this one relationship possesses the extraordinary importance and centrality in human existence that it so clearly does. The second is to identify and discuss the most common barriers to persons being able to love that are encountered in clinical practice.

Lotte Spreeuwenberg

In recent discussions about whether the use of a love pill to enhance love in our romantic relationships is desirable, one argument centres on the question whether this love pill would secure the final value we attribute to love. Sven Nyholm argues that it would not, because one thing we desire for its own sake is to be at the origin of the love others feel for us. In a reply, Hichem Naar argues against Nyholm that a love pill does not need to be incompatible with the final value we attribute to love and that a love pill can have a facilitating role in the creation and sustainment of loving attachment. I think Naar is right but does not address Nyholm's worry completely. I will argue that Naar and Nyholm are speaking of different ends for which the love pill is used as a means, and that whether the love pill would fail or not fail to secure the final value we attribute to love, depends on this particular end.

Randall Holm

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Intellectual history of classic Jewish and Christian narrativesof giving.

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The Love Bubble

By: Sandy Cameli

Using writing as opportunities for students to grieve and grow.

Teachers are perpetual students. Each day we learn some new piece of information from a book, an article, or a podcast, but we often learn a great deal more from our students. This following story is inspired by an experience with an 11-year-old student named Josie and who helped me understand the power of love.

Josie was a typical sixth grader – full of life, enthusiasm, and bounce! Not a day went by without her bounding into the classroom asking,  “What are we doing today?”  Her infectious laugh, collaborative spirit, and intellect found favor with peers as she navigated her first year in a middle school. Homework assignments were never late, projects generally preceded deadlines, and volunteerism was her middle name when it came to helping others. Additionally, she was a sophisticated writer who incorporated emotion into her work.

During the December holiday break, I received an e-mail from Josie’s mom regarding the passing of the family’s matriarch – Josie’s grandmother. The note explained that the family would need to travel out of state to attend a memorial service, and the parents were requesting homework from their children’s teachers for the duration of the trip. I responded with condolences and assured her that Josie could catch up upon her return. My only request was for the family to take the time necessary to grieve and focus on the matters at hand.

School resumed in January, and I launched into a new unit on analogies, metaphors, and similes. Josie returned five days into the new semester, when her smile and the bounce in her step were gone. After school she stopped by to pick up missing assignments, and to turn in an essay she had been working on.

She explained that her friend had stayed in touch with her while she was gone and gave her updates on assignments. Since she loved writing, she decided to start on the “Analogy” task during the airplane ride home.  “I wanted to write something that would honor my Gramma …” , she paused,  “… but I’m having trouble with the ending,”  her voice caught as she handed me the folder. I assured her that I would give it my undivided attention, and that we would work on the ending after the weekend.

On Saturday morning, I decided to pull out the draft essays turned in by my sixth graders earlier in the week. Since Josie’s was the last essay submitted, hers was the folder I grabbed first and began reading:

by Josie C., Period 5 English

Analogies are the way two things are compared to show similarities. An example would be “He walks as slow as a turtle,” this is comparing how the boy has a slow pace like the animal’s. Or, “the pillows were as fluffy as marshmallows” compares the soft, squishiness of cushions to the same treat we put in our hot chocolate. The analogy I will use for this essay is to compare my Gramma’s love to a soapy bubble.

To compare a grandmother to soap may seem unusual, but in this case it’s the perfect fit. Gramma was my best friend, my secret-keeper, my smile-maker. When we would wash dishes together she would wrap her wrinkly fingers around mine and squeeze the soapy bubbles until the white foam oozed out and made us both giggle. “Josie,” she would say, “Bubbles are like love – they are clean, limitless, and spread the more you share them.” We would make a game of looking for bubble-love in our daily lives: like washing her dog, blowing air through a straw into chocolate milk, taking a bubble bath (of course), and even when my little brother blew a snot-bubble – I thought it was a gross example, but Gramma said any bubble that makes you smile is a Love Bubble.

I once asked her what happens when a bubble pops, “Is the love gone?” Laughing she would say, “No, sweetie. When a love-bubble pops it spreads even more – think about it.” I studied her face for the answer, for the realization, for the light bulb moment (as our teachers always say). Sensing my hesitation Gramma continued, “A bubble’s job is to expand to its fullest potential by cleaning, reflecting and working together (with other bubbles) – but, its most important role is making people smile! When its job is done it is absorbed in order to continue the cycle. Do you understand, honey?” I nodded, but still wondered how true the bubble cycle really was.

The more we would look for bubble-love, the more I found similarities with Gramma’s love. If bubbles were considered clean, reflective, limitless and spread joy – then Gramma could be a HUGE Love Bubble! She was the most honest and moral person I knew, she always operated with a CLEAN heart. Gramma and I would have long conversations during meals, bedtime or even watching our favorite movie for the 20th time, each time she taught me how to REFLECT on my decisions, actions and character. Her love for family was LIMITLESS and came from a very selfless place – her heart. She told stories with details that made me feel like I was there, even if the event was decades old. No one SPREAD more unconditional love then Gramma did. And, she didn’t just love us, she taught us “how” to love by forgiving mistakes, supporting others, and always looking for the good in situations. And, for my parents, brother, aunts, uncles & cousins she was the JOY-zone anytime we needed a boost in our spirits.

Gramma’s bubble-love covered me from head to toe and oozed affection, tenderness, warmth and devotion. Even when we didn’t see each other, I could feel her bubble-love surround me, like the way whipped cream seeps into hot cocoa, she sent warm hugs from far away. Our phones calls were chatter-fests (as she called them) and could go on and on, we would spend hours in the kitchen making gourmet meals out of the most basic supplies, and our slumber parties put any of my friends’ sleepovers to shame (but don’t tell!). Gramma was a fixture in my life just like eating, sleeping and breathing.

But then my Love Bubble burst. I couldn’t feel her anymore or comprehend how she was no longer here or anywhere. I couldn’t find the cycle she spoke of, where bubbles were supposed to continue. I looked around at our family to see smiles disappear, people moving away from each other, and even some family members arguing–very unbubble-like.

And, instead of feeling safe and secure, I feel like I’m just washing down the drain…

It was at this point Josie’s essay ended. I choked back tears and reread it, her words, analogies and love-lost was so powerful I wanted to experience it again. She may have questioned her ending, but I found it to be exactly how one feels during grief. Her poetic descriptions and symbolism were spot-on and moved me, as an outsider, to connect with her emotions, and to empathize with her regarding this immeasurable loss. After offering some feedback on cosmetic corrections and mechanics, I reassure her this piece met all expectations.

The following week, Josie was somewhat back to normal, although sorrow remained in her eyes. Her BFF Rose had taken on the role of protector and sat with Josie during class, at lunch, and on the bus. Soon the duo was spotted giggling at recess and skipping through the halls: Josie’s rebound was in motion.

During our Writer’s Workshop sessions, students served as peer-editors and provided feedback and constructive criticism. Josie’s piece made it through the editing and revisions stages smoothly as she prepared the Final Draft for assessment purposes. Upon final submission Josie turned her folder into the Period 5 basket, with a renewed twinkle in her eye she simply said, “Thanks for the help,” then darted off to her next class.

Anxious to read her piece I grabbed it from the pile and began to read. The beginning stayed true to its course, so I just skimmed through, eager to see if she had revised the ending.

And, instead of feeling safe and secure, I felt like I had just been washed down the drain … however,

She had changed the last line from present tense to past tense, and added a conjunction:

I remember Gramma pointing out the rainbow colors seen in a bubble when the light hit it just right, and how rainbows serve as reminders and promises. She had taught me to see a simple dome of soap as an analogy for a bigger purpose. And, even though my personal Love-Bubble was no longer with us, her absence reminded me that bubble-love is contagious and can be spread by love and a smile – something I can do in her honor.

Josie’s conclusion put a smile on my face, and joy in my heart as I set the folder down, satisfied that she had successfully completed the task, while also using the writing process as the catalyst for her healing process. As I glanced across the room where a drippy faucet was pinging in the background, I noticed a bottle of liquid dish soap teetering on the edge of the sink. When I crossed the room and approached the counter I couldn’t help notice the self-inflated bubble rising from the bottle’s spout. Pausing to look closer I could see light reflecting through, and rainbow bands sparkling in the midday light. Smiling I realized although it wasn’t grandparent’s visitation day, it was pretty cool that Josie’s Gramma decided to stop by to spread some Bubble Love.

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26 Best Love Metaphors, Analogies & Similes

Love metaphors generally refer to love as something that is irresistible and not your choice, such as in these examples:

• Struck by Cupid’s Arrow
• Falling in Love
• Love is a Drug
• Knocked off your Feet

Other examples relate it to natural phenomena, such as:

• Love is a Whirlwind
• An Eternal Flame
• A Wave of Passion

Below, I’ve listed 25 love metaphors for every occasion.

Love Metaphors, Analogies and Similes Describing Love

Read Also: Marriage Metaphors

1. A Bottomless Well

The idea that love is a bottomless well implies that it’s something that will never run out. Your love will last forever. You might say this about your love for your parents or family members who you have known your whole life so they’re a part of your very identity.

Love is often related to heat and fire because it evokes a sense of passion. If we’re in love, we might have a flame burning inside of us. Similarly, a new love affair might be called a “young flame”.

As a writer, you could be quite creative with this metaphor. You can say things like “her love was a fire burning inside her,” or if there’s a love affair that has ended but is not truly over, it could be “smouldering love that lasted for years, even though they were apart”.

Another fire-related metaphor for love is “burning desire”, which refers to this intense sense that you want to be with someone.

It seems as if the rollercoaster metaphor can be used for just about anything. And it’s no different here. Love as a rollercoaster ride gives you a sense that it’s full of the highest of high emotions as well as the lowest of lows. Usually, a ride is also

When people say “love is life”, they mean that love is the most important thing in life, not that they’re the one and the same thing. In reality, love is one thing in our lives, but it can be the most overwhelming element of our lives. This technique of saying a part of something is its whole is a literary technique called synecdoche.

5. My Love Overflows

The idea that love overflows gives us this sense that love is water in a mug. If you’ve got a lot of love in your life, you can say that your love is overflowing. This is to imply that you have more love in your life than you can handle! Another version of this “love as liquid” metaphor is the idea that you can’t “contain” your love, which may mean that you’re displaying affection even in moments when you probably shouldn’t.

6. A Wave of Passion

The idea that love is a wave of passion gives us a sense that it hits you (like a wave in the ocean) and you’re overcome by it. But just like waves in the ocean, it might also imply that the emotion comes and goes, comes and goes. There is both high emotion and temporariness in this metaphor that can be great for the fleeting young love of summertime, for example.

> See 21 More Ocean Metaphors

7. A Whirlwind Romance

When you’re stuck in a whirlwind you’re disoriented, unable to escape, and it often creeps up on you. Love can be explained in a similar way. A whirlwind romance starts suddenly, its full of emotion, and often ends suddenly as well. When you’re in a whirlwind romance you may feel like you’ve been ‘swept off your feet’ (another metaphor – discussed later), meaning you’re overwhelmed and almost acting irrationally due to your emotions.

8. A Magnet

Magnetic love occurs when you feel as if you and the person you’re in love with seem to be consistently “drawn to each other” like magnets. You find yourselves in situations where you’re together and making efforts to be around each other. You may also find yourselves glancing at one another across the room all the time because you want to be together.

9. The First Day of Spring

To say “love is like the first day of spring” (that’s framed as a simile because we’re saying like ) is to say new love makes you feel like everything is positive and exciting. Birds are singing, the sun is shining and the next few months will be lovely and warm! Spring is often associated with positive feelings and an upbeat future, as opposed to winter which is often a metaphor for bad days ahead.

> See 10 More Spring Metaphors

The idea that love is a drug gives us a sense that it alters your consciousness somehow. Recreational drugs will often give you a euphoric feeling. So ,you might be ‘deliriously in love’ or even refer to love as a ‘fever’ to show how it has affected you. Another phrase you could use to refer to this metaphor is to say that you’ve been hit by the love drug.

11. A Journey

The concept of love as a journey refers not to new or young love, but a deeper longer-term love. This might be a good one for a marriage, where you go through the ups and downs of it all, but you have your journey companion by your side the whole time. This idea is even loosely referred to in weeding vows where you say “in sickness and in poor, good times and bad”.

12. My Guidebook

To say “love is my guidebook” or “love is my guiding light” references the idea that we’re making our decisions in life based on love. If you have a family and all your decisions are about protecting or providing for them, this might be a good metaphor for you.

You can find more family metaphors here .

Wild love is a return to that idea that being in love is something that sweeps you up (a metaphor discussed later) and makes you giddy with happiness. This might be a particularly physical form of love as well – “they’re animals, the way they touch each other!”

Alternatively, you might say “I’m wildly in love,” implying that your love is an infatuation.

We often say that “love is blind” to refer to the idea that we’ll often overlook our partner’s faults because we love them so much. Someone who isn’t in love with the person might see their faults more objectively. Their loud chewing or their bad jokes might get the roll of an eye or be met with irritation.

But when you’re in love with the person, you’ll overlook these things because you’re so infatuated with them. You’re blind to their little annoyances!

> See More Eyes Metaphors

15. A Dream

If we say love is a dream, we’re implying that it feels like it’s not real. You might say it’s a dream you don’t want to wake up from because it’s so amazing. Life feels exciting and unbelievably good. You could say that someone is so in love that they’re pinching themselves. When you say you’re pinching yourself, you are implying that you are checking to see if you’re awake or asleep because this feeling is so unbelievably good.

Metaphors for Being in Love

16. intoxicated by love.

This metaphor relates love to being drunk. A person who is intoxicated might be making bad decisions, be artificially excited, or be having an excellent time. So, being intoxicated by love means you’re feeling those effects – but not by alcohol, but by the natural elixir of love! Another way of saying this is ‘love-drunk’, and it often relates to young love.

17. Made for each Other

People who seem to be in the perfectly compatible relationship might be said to be ‘made for each other’. Literally, you might read this as a belief that God has put both the people on earth specifically to be with one another. We might call them soul mates. Commonly, though, this is a term figuratively used to simply refer to a couple’s compatibility.

18. Knocked off your Feet

A person knocked off their feet is someone who has fallen so in love that their world has been tipped upside down. They might be rendered speechless or giddy by the love that they have found. Another way of saying this is “swept off your feet” or “swept up” by love, which again implies that you’ve lost your balance because you’re so in love.

19. Love Conquers All

This war-like metaphor implies that love is the greatest of emotions. It ‘conquers’ all other emotions, including hate. It is the most powerful and important of all emotions. This is often used in relation to someone who is struggling between the emotions of love and hate. You’d want the protagonist to let go of their hate and follow a life led by love for their fellow man.

20. Falling in Love

‘Falling’ in love is so common as to be idiomatic. We rarely think of this as a metaphor when using it. But when we start to love someone, it might give us this feeling of falling. We might be falling into their arms or fainting because we’re so overcome by emotion. It also gives a sense that you can’t stop or help yourself. When someone is falling (say, off a cliff), they usually cannot stop themselves – much like if you’re in love, you can’t just snap out of it.

21. Struck by Cupid’s Arrow

Cupid is a Greco-Roman god of love. He is represented as a young, flying god who has a bow and arrow. When he shoots his arrow into someone, they’re said to fall in love with the first person they see.

Today, we say someone is “love struck” to refer back to this old idea of being struck by a love arrow. Like many other metaphors in this list, it implies we have no control over whether we love someone – cupid decides for us.

22. Starved of Love

Someone who is starved of love might not have found someone to love in their life, but they are desiring it. While we’re usually (literally) referring to starvation as being starved of food, someone starved of love might feel that same desperate feeling that they need it for sustenance and to make themselves feel fulfilled.

23. Made Whole

The metaphor “ to be made whole ” by your love refers to the idea that there was something missing in your life before your loved one came into your life. There’s a sense that you are only fully content and satisfied with your life when you have that one person in your life who fits perfectly. This also makes us think of the idea that there is a sense of “completion” of our destiny or life’s purpose when we meet “the one”.

Metaphors about your Husband or Wife

24. my ball and chain.

Sometimes we will refer to the person we love as our ball and chain. This is a somewhat condescending or negative idea (although used in jest, usually) to say that their partner is holding them down and preventing them from doing something they’d prefer to do.

25. You’re my Better Half

A person who is your better half is the person who you feel is a better person than you. When you’re in a couple, you’re half of the couple and your partner is the other half. You might feel that the person who is your partner is more forgiving, caring or kinder than you. So, you call them the better half to pay homage to how great they are and how lucky you feel to have them in your life.

26. You’re the Light of my Life

Love and light are often associated with one another in metaphors. A person who is the light of your life is the person who gives you a great deal of happiness.

Another way of saying this, in reference to the famous song, is to say that someone is “your sunshine”. They make you happy even on sad days! They might be the person you live for, or the person who you crave to be with.

Related: Light Metaphors

Whether you’re looking for ways to describe love for a wedding speech, novel, or to learn new sayings in the English language, I hope this list of love metaphors, similes, idioms and analogies has inspired you. Even if one of these phrases isn’t quite what you’re looking for, sometimes just reading some examples can get your creative juices running so you’re inspired to come up with one yourself!

I’m Chris and I run this website – a resource about symbolism, metaphors, idioms, and a whole lot more! Thanks for dropping by.