Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective analogous contrast with its synonyms?

The words parallel and similar are common synonyms of analogous. While all three words mean "closely resembling each other," analogous applies to things belonging in essentially different categories but nevertheless having many similarities.

analogous political systems

When can parallel be used instead of analogous?

While the synonyms parallel and analogous are close in meaning, parallel suggests a marked likeness in the development of two things.

the parallel careers of two movie stars

When is it sensible to use similar instead of analogous?

The synonyms similar and analogous are sometimes interchangeable, but similar implies the possibility of being mistaken for each other.

all the houses in the development are similar

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 analogous Efforts to deny the indigenous peoples of the Andes access to coca, as Smithsonian anthropologist Catherine Allen has written, are not analogous to outlawing, for example, beer in Germany, coffee in the Middle East, or betel chewing in India. Wade Davis, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2025 In Pachter’s comparison, mobile games are analogous to McDonald’s, while Nintendo is the steakhouse. Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2025 The league maintains the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Third, Seventh, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits have held that consumers in analogous situations to Salazar suffered no concrete harm when the transmission was non-public. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 20 Mar. 2025 Nothing in the founding-era legal landscape is analogous to the challenged law. Dara Kam, Orlando Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for analogous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for analogous
Adjective
  • Wracked with guilt over Su-ho’s injuries, Si-eun enters Weak Hero Class 2 determined not to let another friend suffer a similar, gruesome fate.
    Kayti Burt, Time, 26 Apr. 2025
  • Three other states – Louisiana, New Hampshire and Wyoming – have enacted similar laws in recent months.
    Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • If Villa prepare assiduously to burst out of the blocks at home, then the inverse is often true on the road, comparable to a marathon runner who is unsure of their durability in the last few miles.
    Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025
  • The past two comparable moves in this small-investor proxy, in November 2022 and March 2022, led to stiff near-term declines in the basket within weeks.
    Michael Santoli, CNBC, 26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Why Open Networks Make Sense Supply chains are deeply complex, and no two systems are alike.
    Shekar Natarajan, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Adaptability Is Key No two performances are alike because no two audiences are alike.
    Dr. Jen Donnell, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The interviewer then asked Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, if such statements undermine the Fed’s role as an apolitical institution.
    Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 21 Apr. 2025
  • The Trump administration has repeatedly refuted the idea that any classified information was shared in the first known chat thread; however, several former U.S. officials have contended that the sharing of such information over unapproved channels could at a minimum put troops overseas at risk.
    Luis Martinez, ABC News, 20 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Analogous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/analogous. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

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