analogous

adjective
anal·​o·​gous | \ ə-ˈna-lə-gəs How to pronounce analogous (audio) \

Definition of analogous

: similar or comparable to something else either in general or in some specific detail Timbre in music is analogous to color in painting.— Aaron Copland An airplane's joystick is somewhat analogous to the reins on a horse. : similar in a way that invites comparison : showing an analogy or a likeness that permits one to draw an analogy a town council and a government body that serves an analogous function

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Other Words from analogous

analogously adverb
analogousness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for analogous

similar, analogous, parallel mean closely resembling each other. similar implies the possibility of being mistaken for each other. all the houses in the development are similar analogous applies to things belonging in essentially different categories but nevertheless having many similarities. analogous political systems parallel suggests a marked likeness in the development of two things. the parallel careers of two movie stars

Examples of analogous in a Sentence

… gluons, force particles analogous to the photons of electromagnetism. — Andrew Watson, Science, 22 Jan. 1999 … great stretches of algae, analogous to terrestrial woodlands, in which kelp fills the role of trees. — William K. Stevens, New York Times, 5 Jan. 1999 … not by means superior to, though analogous with, human reason … — Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, 1859
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Recent Examples on the Web Such movement-minded stalwarts as Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the late John Lewis have sought to rekindle an analogous flame in our own time. Michael Kazin, The New Republic, "How the Democratic Party Can Create a Majoritarian Coalition," 11 Feb. 2021 Alas, there is no analogous trick for phosphorus, which comes primarily from the Earth’s crust. Julia Rosen, The Atlantic, "We Broke Phosphorus," 8 Feb. 2021 There is, however, a somewhat-analogous wireguard command, documented under Enterprise Usage in the WireGuard repo. Jim Salter, Ars Technica, "WireGuard for Windows 0.3.1 is the release you’ve been waiting for," 25 Nov. 2020 One of the characters from White Teeth, Zadie Smith’s translucent homage and dissection of teeming diasporic communities in London, will go through an analogous evolution. Ariel Dorfman, The New York Review of Books, "Songs of Loss and Reinvention," 17 Nov. 2020 In California, the analogous toll is more than 5,700 deaths, making up 35% of all coronavirus fatalities in the state. Jackie Fortier, CNN, "Employees working in multiple nursing homes can serve as significant drivers of coronavirus spread," 2 Nov. 2020 Using a commercial quantum annealer called D-Wave, Abel and Spannowsky programmed a string of about 200 qubits to emulate a quantum field with a higher- and a lower-energy state, analogous to a false vacuum and a true vacuum. quantamagazine.org, "Physicists Study How Universes Might Bubble Up and Collide," 25 Jan. 2021 Some owners have followed an analogous course, ditching deskbound jobs for the goat business. Konrad Putzier, WSJ, "Well-Employed in Pandemic Times: Landscaping Goats," 15 Dec. 2020 Is an analogous approach really supposed to be considered a viable plan today, when Democrats have only a razor-thin majority in the House for leverage? Damon Linker, TheWeek, "How we get to civil war," 14 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'analogous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of analogous

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for analogous

Latin analogus "proportionate" (Medieval Latin, "conforming to analogy") + -ous; analogus borrowed from Greek análogos "proportionate, conformable," parasynthetic derivative from anà lógon "proportionately," from aná "up, throughout" + lógon, accusative of lógos "word, speech, relation, correspondence, proportion" — more at ana-, legend

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Time Traveler for analogous

Time Traveler

The first known use of analogous was in 1646

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Statistics for analogous

Last Updated

17 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Analogous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analogous. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

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More Definitions for analogous

analogous

adjective
How to pronounce analogous (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of analogous

formal : similar in some way

analogous

adjective
anal·​o·​gous | \ ə-ˈna-lə-gəs \

Kids Definition of analogous

: showing analogy : similar

analogous

adjective
anal·​o·​gous | \ ə-ˈnal-ə-gəs How to pronounce analogous (audio) \

Medical Definition of analogous

: having similar function but a different structure and origin analogous organs

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