Definition of ANALOGY

Choose the Right Synonym for analogy

likeness, similarity, resemblance, similitude, analogy mean agreement or correspondence in details. likeness implies a closer correspondence than similarity which often implies that things are merely somewhat alike. a remarkable likeness to his late father some similarity between the two cases resemblance implies similarity chiefly in appearance or external qualities. statements that bear little resemblance to the truth similitude applies chiefly to correspondence between abstractions. two schools of social thought showing points of similitude analogy implies likeness or parallelism in relations rather than in appearance or qualities. pointed out analogies to past wars

Digging Into the Most Common Meaning of Analogy

In its most common use, analogy has to do with comparison of things based on those things being alike in some way. For example, one can make or draw an analogy between the seasons of the year and the stages of life. People also reason by way of analogy, asserting, for example, that abandoning a project is like leaving a house partway built. Although an analogy can be summarized quickly, as in these examples, an analogy actually encompasses the comparison or inference itself, and is therefore different from figures of speech, like metaphors and similes, which are forms of expression.

Some tests ask you to identify analogies, finding the second of a pair that has the same relationship as a completed pair. Analogy tests often look like this:

ice : cold :: steel : ____

a. hard b. loud c. fresh d. small

Because the relationship between ice and cold is that coldness is a quality of ice, the word that goes with steel is hard, since hardness is a quality of steel.

The word analogy (which comes from analogous) traces back by way of Latin to a Greek word meaning "proportionate." That word has a root in the Greek word logos, meaning "reason."

Examples of analogy in a Sentence

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 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 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 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

Recent Examples on the Web

One way to understand the IoT says Martin Garner at CCS Insight, a firm of analysts, is by analogy with another world-changing innovation. — The Economist, "Drastic falls in cost are powering another computer revolution," 12 Sep. 2019 In this analogy, air is water, and the drain is the two hurricanes. — Chris Bianchi, The Denver Post, "How Hurricane Dorian helped make it 100 degrees in Denver on Labor Day," 3 Sep. 2019 Subaru claims a hiking boot inspired its new Outback, and the analogy is an apt one. — Larry Printz, Dallas News, "The 2020 Subaru Outback is a family hauling staple, even after six generations," 10 Aug. 2019 In that analogy, Mr. Guo will essentially become the chairman of China’s central bank while Mr. Yi, as governor, will act like a chief executive. — Keith Bradsher, New York Times, "China Splits Top Jobs at Central Bank, Adding Another Reformer," 25 Mar. 2018 The question is how to interpret the bizarre analogy between a fluid of rubidium atoms in a lab in Israel and the mysterious astrophysical abysses most often created when huge stars exhaust their fuel and collapse inward. — Quanta Magazine, "Philosophers Debate New ‘Sonic Black Hole’ Discovery," 27 Aug. 2019 During my travels along the new frontier, Cold War analogies always fell flat. Easier to grasp was the Arctic’s overall absence from the North American mind. — Neil Shea, National Geographic, "A thawing Arctic is heating up a new Cold War," 21 Aug. 2019 The wildness of Caputo’s woods — which teem with bears, wolves, icy rivers and other hazards — finds an analogy in the wilderness of the human soul. — Julia M. Klein, chicagotribune.com, "Philip Caputo hits his target in skillful new novel, 'Hunter’s Moon’," 12 Aug. 2019 Josh Sitton The top-of-mind analogy to the Daniels release is Sitton, the veteran Pro Bowl lineman who was shockingly cut in the final days of training camp in 2016. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "After the stunning departure of Mike Daniels, a look at other surprising Packers roster cuts in the past 25 years," 24 July 2019

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