as in similar
having qualities in common
alcoholism and drug addiction are cognate disorders
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cognate
The aspiring actress Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) is cognate with the earlier film’s domineering, petulant, and voice-challenged silent-film diva Lina Lamont (who, in effect, gets a backstory here).
—
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2022
Remembering in daylight this sensation of awaking from a dreamworld to reality seemed cognate to the experience on the highway: the feeling of being ensorcelled and then awaking from it.
—John Crowley, Harper's Magazine, 8 Dec. 2021
Hence his own always dubious business celebrity became cognate with the mantra of Making America Great Again.
—Kyle Edward Williams, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2020
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2022
Remembering in daylight this sensation of awaking from a dreamworld to reality seemed cognate to the experience on the highway: the feeling of being ensorcelled and then awaking from it.
—John Crowley, Harper's Magazine, 8 Dec. 2021
Hence his own always dubious business celebrity became cognate with the mantra of Making America Great Again.
—Kyle Edward Williams, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cognate
Adjective
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Such a maneuver would mirror similar moves across the industry.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
13 Oct. 2025
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Once Simmons was drafted, Moore knew his role would shift from potential starter to a swing tackle, similar to his job back in San Francisco.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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One need only read the US State Department’s 2024 human rights report on China to realize that naming a Chinese official to a human rights advisory committee is analogous to putting a wolf in charge of a hen house.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
10 Oct. 2025
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At its core, the cloud is a model analogous to electricity, water, and other utilities; computing is a commodified service, generated at a remote location (in this case, a data center) and delivered through a network (here, the internet).—
Asad Ramzanali,
Time,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The notional $1,000- $2,000 tariff-revenue checks may be comparable in dollar amount to Biden’s stimulus checks, but Covid dollars and today’s dollars are much different due to the high inflation that’s occurred in recent years, outpacing wage growth.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
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By carefully analyzing the subtle interactions of these signals, the technology can generate a highly detailed and accurate representation of a person’s presence, posture, and movement that is comparable to a camera snapshot, but constructed entirely from radio waves.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Humans and wildlife alike feast on the fruit, with a taste between a banana and a pineapple and a custard-like texture.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
28 Aug. 2025
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One of my pieces was authenticated through eBay, and the leather, stitching, canvas, and quality are alike.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In piling up a season-high point total, the Hornets produced three 100-yard rushers to steamroll the Wildcats, the first such feat for Sac State in a single game for a program that fielded its first team in 1954.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
12 Oct. 2025
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Hidalgo-Monroy Wohlgemuth argues that, even with initiatives that offer farmers a livable income and pricing stability, such fair trade agreements aren’t a catch-all solution for rural livelihood development.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cognate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cognate. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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