Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Ontological Metaphor

Definition: 

An ontological metaphor is a metaphor in which an abstraction, such as an activity, emotion, or idea, is represented as something concrete, such as an object, substance, container, or person.

Examples: 

The following sentences express the activity-as-container metaphor:

  • How did Jerry get out of washing the windows?
  • Outside of washing the windows, what else did you do?
  • How did you get into window-washing as a profession?
  • put a lot of energy into washing the windows.
  • get a lot of satisfaction out of washing windows.