analogy

noun

anal·o·gy | \ ə-ˈna-lə-jē

plural analogies

Definition of analogy

1a : a comparison of two otherwise unlike things based on resemblance of a particular aspect

b : resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike : similarity

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

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

Choose the Right Synonym Digging Into the Most Common Meaning of Analogy Example Sentences Learn More about analogy

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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

This is an analogy: the axions don't have a specific timing with each other. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Pulsars could convert dark matter into something we could see," 20 Dec. 2018 This is not an exact analogy, but buying that wine was kind of like buying knock-off Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags from sidewalk vendors. — Michael Austin, chicagotribune.com, "If you think you don't like Chablis, maybe you haven't tried the real thing," 21 Mar. 2018 One possible analogy may be derived from how the federal government punishes banks for wronging consumers. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "How the NBA Will Investigate and Potentially Punish Mark Cuban and the Mavericks," 23 Feb. 2018 To illustrate the concept of strand displacement, Qian et al, draw a simple analogy to two people, Amy and Adam, who have a few things in common and decide to date. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Caltech scientists use DNA tiles to play tic-tac-toe at the nanoscale," 29 Dec. 2018 The group lifted up a single motionless man, offering a poetic analogy for masculine fragility and solidarity. — New York Times, "Brand to Know: An Emerging Line That Explores Black Masculinity," 19 June 2018 And though Freeland and Lighthizer have mostly stuck to talking points (or colorful analogies), their respective bosses — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump — have been more candid about their demands. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "The US and Canada haven’t budged on NAFTA," 7 Sep. 2018 While Macron’s sausage analogy on Tuesday could be understood as yet another sign of his weakening ties to Trump, the French president was in fact trying to make the opposite point. — Rick Noack, Washington Post, "France’s Macron: Phone calls with Trump are like sausages, best not to know what’s inside," 6 June 2018 All these analogies to the computing industry are more than just wordplay. — Megan Molteni, WIRED, "Biology Will Be the Next Great Computing Platform," 3 May 2018

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.