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Similes are fun word phrases that compare two different things using the words like or as. People use them to make talking and writing more descriptive, exciting, and colorful. In this article, you will learn fifty fun similes related to being used.
In this lesson, we’ll look at similes that mean feeling taken advantage of, treated like a tool, and worn out by others. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.
Similes for Being Used
1. Used like a doormat
Definition: Being treated with complete disrespect and walked all over by people who only care about themselves.
Used in a Sentence: Whenever his classmates wanted free answers to their homework, they treated him like a doormat. / She finally decided to stand up for herself instead of letting others treat her like a doormat.
Similar Expressions: Disrespected and walked on / Treated poorly
2. Drained like a spent battery
Definition: Having all of your energy, patience, and kindness completely sucked out by demanding friends.
Used in a Sentence: After helping everyone else move their heavy boxes all weekend, she felt drained like a spent battery. / Listening to his endless complaints left my emotional energy feeling like a spent battery.
Similar Expressions: Totally exhausted / Empty of power
3. Tossed aside like old garbage
Definition: Being abandoned or ignored the exact second someone finishes taking what they need from you.
Used in a Sentence: Once he copied all my art project ideas, he dropped me like old garbage. / Feeling tossed aside like old garbage hurts when you thought someone was your true friend.
Similar Expressions: Unceremoniously dumped / Abandoned quickly
4. Squeezed like a lemon
Definition: Having every drop of your hard work and effort extracted until you have nothing left to give.
Used in a Sentence: Working fifty hours a week for a boss who never says thank you makes you feel squeezed like a lemon. / The coach pushed the star player during practice until he felt squeezed like a lemon.
Similar Expressions: Drained dry / Extracted fully
5. Worn like an old rag
Definition: Being handled roughly and continuously until you are tattered, tired, and cast away.
Used in a Sentence: Letting group members boss her around all semester left her feeling worn like an old rag. / His patience was stretched thin and worn like an old rag by constant favors.
Similar Expressions: Frayed and tired / Heavily exploited
6. Exploited like a hired mule
Definition: Working tirelessly on heavy tasks while receiving zero appreciation or fair reward.
Used in a Sentence: Doing all the cleaning chores while everyone else played video games made him feel exploited like a hired mule. / The interns were treated like hired mules during the busy convention setup.
Similar Expressions: Overworked laborer / Unvalued worker
7. Spent like a counterfeit coin
Definition: Realizing you were valued only for a fake purpose before being rejected entirely.
Used in a Sentence: When his popularity vanished, he found himself dropped and spent like a counterfeit coin. / Trusting her false friendship left him feeling used and spent like a counterfeit coin.
Similar Expressions: Valueless after use / Traded away
8. Pulled like a puppet on strings
Definition: Being controlled and manipulated by someone else to do their dirty work.
Used in a Sentence: She realized her older sister was making her fight all her battles, pulling her like a puppet on strings. / Refusing to dance to someone else’s tune means cutting your strings as a puppet.
Similar Expressions: Fully controlled / Manipulated easily
9. Grazed like a pasture field
Definition: Having your resources, ideas, and snacks consumed completely by greedy acquaintances.
Used in a Sentence: Bringing a big bag of candy to school meant my friends grazed my locker supplies like cattle in a pasture. / The group used up all my creative project ideas like a grazed field.
Similar Expressions: Eaten away / Resources depleted
10. Trapped like a beast of burden
Definition: Carrying an unfair share of heavy responsibilities while others watch you struggle.
Used in a Sentence: Carrying all three science display boards by himself made him feel trapped like a beast of burden. / The manager piled every single closing shift task on her shoulders like a beast of burden.
Similar Expressions: Overburdened worker / Heavily loaded
11. Exploited like a gold mine
Definition: Being continually visited and tapped solely for your money, skills, or generosity.
Used in a Sentence: Whenever they needed spare cash for the arcade, they treated him like an open gold mine. / Sharing my notes with kids who never studied made me feel exploited like a gold mine.
Similar Expressions: Continuously tapped / Resource mined
12. Consumed like fuel in a furnace
Definition: Having your time and vitality burned up rapidly to power someone else’s ambitions.
Used in a Sentence: Helping coordinate the festival without any help left her feeling consumed like fuel in a furnace. / His generous study time was burned through by classmates like fuel in a furnace.
Similar Expressions: Burned up fast / Rapidly depleted
13. Wasted like uneaten food
Definition: Having your talents, kindness, and intelligence ignored and thrown away on ungrateful people.
Used in a Sentence: Offering great advice to people who refuse to listen feels wasted like uneaten food on a plate. / Spending hours baking cookies for a party where nobody thanked her felt wasted like uneaten food.
Similar Expressions: Unappreciated effort / Disregarded value
14. Dragged like a heavy anchor
Definition: Being forced to pull someone else’s dead weight through a group project or task.
Used in a Sentence: Doing all the typing while my partner slept in class felt like dragging a heavy anchor across the floor. / Carrying the entire presentation team left my arms aching like a dragging anchor.
Similar Expressions: Pulling dead weight / Burdened hard
15. Dangled like a carrot on a stick
Definition: Being promised a reward or friendship continually to keep you working hard, with nothing delivered.
Used in a Sentence: Promising him the lead role if he built all the stage props kept him dangling like a carrot on a stick. / Waiting for her to finally include me in games felt like chasing a carrot on a stick.
Similar Expressions: False promises / Lured along
16. Burned out like a blown-out fuse
Definition: Working at maximum capacity under unfair conditions until your mind completely shuts down.
Used in a Sentence: Pulling three all-nighters to finish everyone else’s art project left her burned out like a blown-out fuse. / Dealing with his constant demands left my patience burned out like a blown-out fuse.
Similar Expressions: Power lost / Mentally dead
17. Sacrificed like a pawn in a game
Definition: Being put in a bad position or taking the blame so that a manipulative friend stays safe.
Used in a Sentence: She realized her friend blamed her for the broken vase to save herself, treating her like a pawn in a game. / Taking the penalty for the group’s missing assignment made him feel like a sacrificed pawn.
Similar Expressions: Blamed unfairly / Expendable piece
18. Stripped like an abandoned car
Definition: Having all your good ideas, confidence, and belongings taken until nothing useful remains.
Used in a Sentence: After the bullies borrowed my art supplies and returned them broken, I felt stripped like an abandoned car. / Sharing every secret only to have them mocked left my spirit stripped like an abandoned car.
Similar Expressions: Empty and ruined / Despoiled completely
19. Sucked dry like a sponge
Definition: Giving away all your emotional support to a demanding friend until you are completely empty.
Used in a Sentence: Listening to her dramatic stories every night left my empathy sucked dry like a sponge. / The group project committee drained my creativity until I felt sucked dry like a sponge.
Similar Expressions: Completely drained / Empty of care
20. Swept aside like dust on a floor
Definition: Being dismissed and ignored as worthless the moment you stop being convenient.
Used in a Sentence: Once the election campaign was over, the volunteer helpers were swept aside like dust on a floor. / Feeling ignored by your own friends after helping them move feels like being swept aside like dust.
Similar Expressions: Disregarded easily / Brushed away
21. Bounced like a rubber ball
Definition: Being passed back and forth between people who each want you to do their chores.
Used in a Sentence: Neither parent wanted to drive me to practice, so they bounced me between cars like a rubber ball. / The teacher’s aides passed my paperwork back and forth like a bounced ball.
Similar Expressions: Passed around / Tossed back
22. Plucked like a fruit tree
Definition: Having all your best work and creativity harvested by others who give nothing back.
Used in a Sentence: Sharing my comic book ideas with classmates who took credit felt like being plucked like a fruit tree. / The committee took my fundraising plan and left me behind like a picked tree.
Similar Expressions: Harvested bare / Taken advantage of
23. Ridden like a borrowed bicycle
Definition: Being used carelessly and heavily by anyone who wants a quick ride without caring for your condition.
Used in a Sentence: Letting classmates borrow my expensive markers until they dried out made me feel ridden like a borrowed bicycle. / He felt used and discarded by friends who treated his kindness like a borrowed bike.
Similar Expressions: Handled carelessly / Used and abused
24. Fed on like a parasite host
Definition: Having a selfish person attach themselves to your popularity or generosity to benefit themselves.
Used in a Sentence: She only hung out with me when she wanted to copy my lab notes, attaching herself like a parasite. / Realizing he only used me for rides to football practice made me feel like a host to a parasite.
Similar Expressions: Leached upon / Drained by user
25. Crushed like a paper cup
Definition: Being used up quickly during an event and then discarded into the trash without a second thought.
Used in a Sentence: Working the concession stand until midnight without a break left her feeling crushed like a paper cup. / The temporary helpers felt used and crushed like a paper cup after the festival.
Similar Expressions: Discarded fast / Used and thrown
26. Drained like a swamp in summer
Definition: Having all your resources, time, and attention completely emptied out by endless requests.
Used in a Sentence: Helping every kid in the neighborhood fix their bicycle tires left my Saturday schedule drained like a summer swamp. / My emotional energy reserves were drained like a swamp by family drama.
Similar Expressions: Totally emptied / Dried up
27. Sifted like flour through a screen
Definition: Having every useful skill extracted from you while your feelings are filtered out and ignored.
Used in a Sentence: The club leaders took my computer programming skills and ignored my opinions, sifting me like flour. / Working on the yearbook committee made me feel sifted like flour for free labor.
Similar Expressions: Filtered for use / Exploited parts
28. Skimmed like top-grade milk
Definition: Having only the best parts of your personality or talent taken while you are left behind.
Used in a Sentence: They only wanted me around when I baked treats for their parties, skimming my kindness like milk. / Taking my best joke ideas for their sketch comedy left me feeling skimmed.
Similar Expressions: Best parts taken / Harvested bits
29. Pumped like an old well
Definition: Being asked for favors, answers, and help over and over until nothing else comes up.
Used in a Sentence: Sitting next to the smartest kid in class meant getting pumped for math answers every single day. / Asking me for money every lunch hour felt like pumping an old dry well.
Similar Expressions: Constantly asked / Drained repeatedly
30. Bleed dry like a wound
Definition: Having your money, time, or patience drained away slowly by someone taking constant advantage.
Used in a Sentence: Loaning money to a friend who never pays you back leaves your wallet bleeding dry like an open wound. / Her constant demands for my attention left my free time bleeding dry.
Similar Expressions: Drained slowly / Sapped completely
31. Sapped like a tapped maple tree
Definition: Having your sweet energy and helpful nature drawn out by people who want a sweet treat.
Used in a Sentence: Always being the nice person who says yes left my spirit sapped like a tapped maple tree in spring. / Helping everyone with their drama left me sapped of all joy.
Similar Expressions: Energy drawn out / Sapped of strength
32. Spent like an old ticket stub
Definition: Being valued only during a specific event and then thrown into the trash bin afterward.
Used in a Sentence: Once the school musical closed, the stage builders felt used and spent like old ticket stubs. / Helping them win the match felt great until they dropped me like a spent ticket stub.
Similar Expressions: Discarded pass / Valueless now
33. Shaken like a soda bottle
Definition: Being manipulated and pressured until you burst from carrying everyone else’s stress.
Used in a Sentence: Having three different friends dump their secrets on me at once left me shaken like a soda bottle. / The unfair blame from the teacher left her emotions shaken like a shaken soda bottle.
Similar Expressions: High pressure / Ready to burst
34. Harnessed like an ox in a yoke
Definition: Being tied down to heavy, exhausting labor while others walk freely beside you.
Used in a Sentence: Cleaning the entire gymnasium locker room alone felt like being harnessed like an ox in a yoke. / Doing all the project research while my partners chatted felt like wearing a heavy yoke.
Similar Expressions: Heavy labor / Tied to work
35. Stretched like a rubber band past its limit
Definition: Being asked to do more favors than your physical and mental strength can possibly handle.
Used in a Sentence: Working the school play, sports practice, and tutoring simultaneously left me stretched like a rubber band. / Saying yes to every single club request left my patience stretched like a rubber band.
Similar Expressions: Overextended / Past breaking point
36. Squeezed like toothpaste from a tube
Definition: Having every last ounce of effort forced out of you until the container is flat and empty.
Used in a Sentence: Preparing for the state piano competition left my energy squeezed like toothpaste from a tube. / The rigorous exam week left our brains feeling squeezed like toothpaste from a tube.
Similar Expressions: Forcefully drained / Flattened out
37. Grazed over like a harvested cornfield
Definition: Being left behind in total silence after a greedy group takes every resource you offered.
Used in a Sentence: After my birthday party guests ate all the food and left, my house felt like a grazed cornfield. / Helping them with their campaign left my free time looking like a harvested cornfield.
Similar Expressions: Left bare / Completely picked
38. Battered like a thrift store toy
Definition: Being handled carelessly by rough acquaintances who break your trust and kindness.
Used in a Sentence: Lending my favorite video game to someone who scratched the disc made me feel battered like a thrift store toy. / Her fragile feelings were treated carelessly, leaving her battered like an old toy.
Similar Expressions: Treated roughly / Carelessly handled
39. Dangled like bait on a fishhook
Definition: Being lured into doing hard chores with the false hope of a fun reward later.
Used in a Sentence: Cleaning the garage was supposed to earn concert tickets, but I felt dangled like bait on a fishhook. / Waiting for the promotion after doing all the manager’s work felt like chasing bait.
Similar Expressions: False incentive / Lured along
40. Milked like a dairy cow
Definition: Having your skills, money, or resources continuously extracted for maximum profit by users.
Used in a Sentence: Working at the family shop without getting paid an allowance made me feel milked like a dairy cow. / The ticket scalpers milked the fans like cows for all their cash.
Similar Expressions: Extracted heavily / Profitably drained
41. Grazed like deer in an orchard
Definition: Having friends pick through your belongings and take your favorite items without asking.
Used in a Sentence: Leaving my colored pencils on the desk meant classmates grazed my supplies like deer in an orchard. / My snack stash was raided by roommates like deer in an orchard.
Similar Expressions: Raided supplies / Taken freely
42. Scraped like a burnt pan bottom
Definition: Working so hard to clean up other people’s messes that you feel thoroughly degraded.
Used in a Sentence: Scrubbing the muddy cleats of every player on the team felt like scraping a burnt pan bottom. / Fixing the messy code left behind by sloppy programmers felt like scraping a pan.
Similar Expressions: Devalued labor / Hard cleanup
43. Skimmed like cream off the top
Definition: Having the best parts of your ideas stolen while you receive zero credit or thanks.
Used in a Sentence: The team captain took my science hypothesis and called it his own, skimming my work like cream. / Watching them win the award for my invention felt like having my ideas skimmed.
Similar Expressions: Stolen credit / Harvested ideas
44. Burned like a disposable match
Definition: Being ignited for a quick task and then thrown away instantly when the flame goes out.
Used in a Sentence: Helping them pass the final exam made me feel used and burned like a disposable match. / Once the stage was built, the crew was discarded like a burned match.
Similar Expressions: Used and tossed / Quick burnout
45. Bitten like an apple and thrown away
Definition: Getting a taste of your kindness before rejecting the rest of you ungratefully.
Used in a Sentence: He took my notes for the history test and then stopped talking to me, feeling bitten like an apple. / Being used for a ride to the mall and then ignored felt like being bitten and tossed away.
Similar Expressions: Tasted and dropped / Ungratefully left
46. Pinched like a pocketful of coins
Definition: Having your generosity taken in small pieces until your emotional wallet is entirely empty.
Used in a Sentence: Loaning small amounts of lunch money to the same kid every day left my savings pinched bare. / Her constant small favors left my kindness pinched dry.
Similar Expressions: Drained slowly / Small extractions
47. Ground like wheat between millstones
Definition: Being caught between two demanding people who both use you for their own arguments.
Used in a Sentence: Helping my fighting siblings while both demanded my support felt like being ground between millstones. / Being pressured by both managers for extra hours left me ground between stones.
Similar Expressions: Crushed by demands / Caught in middle
48. Sifted like gold dust in a pan
Definition: Having every ounce of useful talent filtered out of you while your personal needs are ignored.
Used in a Sentence: The club sifted my artistic talents for the poster design and ignored me for the party. / Working on the set design made me feel sifted like gold dust for free labor.
Similar Expressions: Talents extracted / Filtered labor
49. Spent like a rainy day fund
Definition: Having all your saved energy and patience exhausted completely on ungrateful requests.
Used in a Sentence: Handling family drama all week left my emotional reserve spent like a rainy day fund. / Loaning out my tools until they broke left my patience spent like savings.
Similar Expressions: Reserves exhausted / All used up
50. Wiped clean like a chalkboard
Definition: Having your hard work erased by someone else who takes credit for the clean slate.
Used in a Sentence: Finishing the messy report only for the boss to put his name on it felt like being wiped clean. / Watching my art entry get signed by someone else left my effort wiped like a chalkboard.
Similar Expressions: Effort erased / Work stolen
Exercise to Practice
- Whenever his classmates wanted free answers to their homework, they treated him like a doormat.
- After helping everyone else move their heavy boxes all weekend, she felt drained like a spent battery.
- Once he copied all my art project ideas, he dropped me like old garbage.
- Working fifty hours a week for a boss who never says thank you makes you feel squeezed like a lemon.
- Letting group members boss her around all semester left her feeling warm like a cozy fireplace.
- Doing all the cleaning chores while everyone else played video games made him feel exploited like a hired mule.
- When his popularity vanished, he found himself dropped and spent like a counterfeit coin.
- She realized her older sister was making her fight all her battles, pulling her like a puppet on strings.
- Bringing a big bag of candy to school meant my friends grazed my locker supplies like cattle in a pasture.
- Carrying all three science display boards by himself made him feel as fast as a shooting star.
- Whenever they needed spare cash for the arcade, they treated him like an open gold mine.
- Helping coordinate the festival without any help left her feeling consumed like fuel in a furnace.
- Offering great advice to people who refuse to listen feels wasted like uneaten food on a plate.
- Doing all the typing while my partner slept in class felt like dragging a heavy anchor across the floor.
- Promising him the lead role if he built all the stage props kept him dangling like a carrot on a stick.
Answer Key
- True
- True
- True
- True
- False
- True
- True
- True
- True
- False
- True
- True
- True
- True
- True
Conclusion
Learning these similes helps you describe being used, feeling taken advantage of, and experiencing exploitation in a clear and expressive way. When you use creative comparisons, your stories and descriptions of difficult relationships become much more relatable and meaningful.
Try using one or two of these expressions the next time you write a personal story or a narrative essay at school. You will see how exciting it is to bring your everyday language to life while expressing genuine emotions!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some common similes for being used?
Some popular similes for being used include used like a doormat, drained like a spent battery, and tossed aside like old garbage. People use these expressions to talk about feeling taken advantage of, treated like a tool, and worn out by others in daily life.
Why do we use similes in English?
Similes make our language much more colorful and interesting by comparing two different things using like or as. They help us share vivid pictures and feelings in our minds quickly and clearly.
How can I learn more similes easily?
You can learn new similes by reading thoughtful stories, listening to how people express their feelings, and practicing them in your own sentences. Writing down your favorite phrases in a notebook is also a great way to remember them.
Are similes used in everyday speech?
Yes, people use similes every day when telling stories, describing interpersonal conflicts, and talking with friends. They help make ordinary conversations sound lively, empathetic, and engaging.
Can similes have more than one meaning?
Most similes have one main accepted comparison, but writers can use them in different contextual settings. Always check the definition and sample sentences to make sure you use the phrase correctly.
