likeness

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word likeness distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of likeness are analogy, resemblance, similarity, and similitude. While all these words 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

When is it sensible to use analogy instead of likeness?

In some situations, the words analogy and likeness are roughly equivalent. However, analogy implies likeness or parallelism in relations rather than in appearance or qualities.

pointed out analogies to past wars

When is resemblance a more appropriate choice than likeness?

The words resemblance and likeness are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, resemblance implies similarity chiefly in appearance or external qualities.

statements that bear little resemblance to the truth

When can similitude be used instead of likeness?

The meanings of similitude and likeness largely overlap; however, similitude applies chiefly to correspondence between abstractions.

two schools of social thought showing points of similitude

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of likeness Each person controls who can use their likeness and can revoke or delete any cameo videos. Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025 Waldron and the Mannings leveraged their relationships with college programs such as Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee to use their name, image and likeness as the opponents of the fictional Catfish. Hannah Vanbiber, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025 The debate over digital likeness and AI protections was a flashpoint in last year’s dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, with actors calling for safeguards against their voices and images being replicated without consent. Clayton Davis, Variety, 29 Sep. 2025 Holm died in 2020, but Alvarez reached out to the actor’s estate to secure its blessing to re-create his likeness circa four decades earlier. Chris Klimek, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for likeness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for likeness
Noun
  • The Rehabilitation A week after Manes’ departure, Johnson posted the image of himself posing with Bukele and their families in front of a Christmas tree.
    T. Christian Miller, ProPublica, 30 Sep. 2025
  • When police released images of the weapon, Robinson’s father texted his son, asking for a picture of the gun, according to the charging document.
    Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Her father had bought it at the county fair; the vender, mistaking it for yet another replica Native ceremonial mask, had all but given it away.
    David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
  • The model rocket that currently sits atop the Baltimore Avenue building is a replica of the Moonliner II placed there after the building was refurbished in the early 2000s to resemble the red and white motif of the former TWA headquarters.
    Chris Ochsner, Kansas City Star, 28 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Despite his mother’s wish to keep the boy out of the Hollywood spotlight, his resemblance at 16 to his father was such that he was cast as Robert’s younger brother in Thunder Road.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2025
  • From jokes about his resemblance to former NBA star Delonté West to comments about the cover hurting the album’s streams, Thug’s provocative art, for the first time, landed flat.
    Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The town's growing acknowledgement of its past comes at an odd time for a county that voted 76% for the president in 2024, which since being reelected has tried to erase negative depictions of the country's past.
    Jenna McMurtry, NPR, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Seriously though, the chemistry between Stewart and O’Brian is off the charts, which is all too rare for cinematic depictions of gender-nonconforming women.
    James Factora, Them., 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • At the core of the GOP’s shutdown argument is painting a grim picture of any non-citizen receiving any government benefit.
    David Weigel, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2025
  • My adoptive parents had refused to allow contact or send pictures, and didn’t tell me about her attempt to communicate with us for years after the fact.
    Nicole Chung, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Due to the similarities with the viral Coldplay jumbotron, social media users were quick to assume that something untoward was happening.
    Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Vasquez seemingly shared no visual similarities to Samuel Vazquez, a 41-year-old accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and her dog outside a Publix in Davenport, the outlet reported.
    Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Uzbek artist Feruza Kholkhujaeva filled courtyards with potted plants that will slowly die, a portrait of grief.
    Dada Jovanovic, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Wolitzer’s debut novel, about a trio of college students each obsessed with a different dead poet, is both a striking coming-of-age story and a compelling portrait of grief.
    Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • From meeting friends who led lives beyond their wildest dreams to discovering themselves surrounded by expensive clothes and flashy cars, the twins were introduced to a whole new world.
    Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
  • In 2009, the couple welcomed twins Bob and Max, who were born six weeks prematurely, and required a prolonged hospital stay.
    Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Likeness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/likeness. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.

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