analogy

anal·o·gy

noun \ə-ˈna-lə-jē\

plural anal·o·gies

Definition of ANALOGY

1

: inference that if two or more things agree with one another in some respects they will probably agree in others

2

a : resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike : similarity b : comparison based on such resemblance

3

: correspondence between the members of pairs or sets of linguistic forms that serves as a basis for the creation of another form

4

: correspondence in function between anatomical parts of different structure and origin — compare homology

Examples of ANALOGY

1. He does, though, suffer from the occupational deformation of international relations specialists: an enthusiasm for ransacking the past in search of precedents, analogies, patterns, and cycles that might explain the present and forecast the future. —Tony Judt, New York Book Review, 10 Apr. 2003
2. People who do this call themselves “white-hat” hackers—good people who show other people their vulnerabilities. Take the following analogy: I've designed a great new lock pick, and I'm going to give this great new gadget away to show everyone that the typical door lock is ineffective against my new pick. —John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine, 4 Apr. 2000
3. It has often been said that movie stars are the royalty of America. (The better analogy, really, is that the royals are the movie stars of Britain.) —Neal Gabler, Life: The Movie, 1998
4. Parts of the far-infrared sky look like colonies of spiders gone mad. The fine structure seen there is called cirrus, by analogy with filamentary clouds on Earth. —Virginia Trimble et al., Sky & Telescope, January 1995

Origin of ANALOGY

(see analogous)

First Known Use: 15th century

Rhymes with ANALOGY

hypallage, mammalogy