Petals sway like painted butterflies.

Meaning: The flower petals are moving in the wind like colorful butterflies flying.

Choice of Words: Petals are the colorful parts of a flower, sway means to move gently back and forth, painted means to add color or design to something, butterflies are flying insects with colorful wings.

Alternative Expressions

The petals dance like graceful ballerinas.

Meaning: This sentence also describes the way that flower petals move in the wind. It says that the petals move rhythmically and gracefully, like ballerinas would.

Choice of Words: The petals are the colorful parts of flowers. Dance means to move rhythmically to music. Like is used to compare two things. Graceful ballerinas are female dancers who perform classical ballet. When you put them together, "The petals dance like graceful ballerinas" means that the petals are moving rhythmically and gracefully, just like ballerinas would.

The petals float like tiny sailboats.

Meaning: This sentence describes the way that flower petals move in water. It says that the petals move smoothly on the surface of the water, like tiny sailboats would.

Choice of Words: The petals are the colorful parts of flowers. Float means to move smoothly on the surface of a liquid. Like is used to compare two things. Tiny sailboats are small boats that are powered by sails. When you put them together, "The petals float like tiny sailboats" means that the petals are moving smoothly on the surface of the water, just like tiny sailboats would.

Related Expressions