What is a description word that compares one thing to another called?

The correct answer to this question isMetaphor. This description word is also a figure of speech. Instead of using words at face value, the words are used to compare things. The purpose of a metaphor is to paint a picture to the reader.

An example of a metaphor is with the phrase "Love is war." Love and war are two different things, and when this phrase is used, the speaker isn't referring to literal war, like the Iraq War. Instead, it is referring to how hard love is and how it can have its battles, like how war does.