dissimilar

adjective

dis·​sim·​i·​lar (ˌ)di(s)-ˈsi-mə-lər 

-ˈsim-lər

: not the same or similar : different or unalike

people with dissimilar backgrounds

dissimilar materials

The responsibilities of the resident were not dissimilar to those of the intern …

—James D. Hardy

dissimilarly

(ˈ)di(s)-ˈsi-mə-lər-lē 

-ˈsim-lər-

adverb

Synonyms

• different
• diverse
• distinctive
• distinct

Examples of dissimilar in a Sentence

The two movies are very dissimilar.

The writers have dissimilar backgrounds.

The question is not dissimilar to one asked earlier.

Recent Examples on the Web

Red Sonja and Revenge couldn’t be more dissimilar in terms of tone and genre, but Lutz’s two incredibly dangerous lead characters share some coincidental overlap, as both Sonja and Jen don bikinis in the middle of all their bloodshed. —Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 8 Aug. 2025

The situation the Pentagon faces is one not all that dissimilar from the milkshake machines at McDonald's. —Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025

The two men couldn't be more dissimilar: Philippe is an older white man, and Driss is a youthful Black man, but beyond that, the two come from vastly different economic backgrounds and have lived very different lives. —Sophie Van Bastelaer, EW.com, 7 July 2025

The team found that only pairs consisting of two optimistic participants had similar brain activation; pairs where one or both participants were more pessimistic were dissimilar to each other. —Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 21 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin dissimilāris, from Latin dis- dis- + Medieval Latin similāris similar

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dissimilar

• not dissimilar

Rhymes for dissimilar

• similar

Kids Definition

dissimilar

adjective

dis·​sim·​i·​lar (ˈ)dis-ˈ(s)im-ə-lər 

: different sense 1, unlike

dissimilarity

(ˌ)dis-ˌ(s)im-ə-ˈlar-ət-ē 

noun

dissimilarly

(ˈ)dis-ˈ(s)im-ə-lər-lē 

adverb