Black Similes
Black is the most loaded colour in the simile catalogue, and the comparison usually has to clarify what kind of black you mean - the absence of light, the presence of soot, or a particular shade of mood. "As black as midnight" is atmospheric. "As black as a chimney sweep" is grimy. "As black as the devil's heart" is moral.
The reliable black similes break into three families: nature (pitch, coal, raven), weather and night (midnight, a storm cloud, the inside of a cellar), and judgment (sin, the devil, a witch's cat). Each one carries an entire scene worth of mood. Pick whichever fits the rest of the paragraph.
Use them in horror, noir, and any scene where the absence of light is doing work. They're especially effective at the openings and endings of chapters, where one strong comparison can set the tone for everything that follows.
Below: every "as black as" simile in the SimileStack database. Pick whichever shade of black the sentence actually needs.
- As black as the rain
- As black as pitch
- As black as a sweep
- As black as coal
- As black as ink
- As black as ebony
- As contrary as black and white
Frequently asked
What does "as black as" mean?
"As black as" is a simile - a comparison using "as" to make a quality vivid. When something is "as black as" something else, the speaker is using the second thing as a familiar example of blackness, so the reader can picture the quality instead of just reading the word.
How many "as black as" similes are there?
SimileStack lists 7 similes for Black. Common ones include "As black as a sweep" and "As black as coal". The full list is on this page.
When should I use a "black" simile in writing?
Use a "black" simile when you want the reader to feel blackness rather than just register the adjective. They work especially well in description, character work, and dialogue, where one well-chosen comparison can do the work of a whole paragraph.