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 Local rumor even has it that only Satan’s intervention has preserved the painting’s likeness. Keith Phipps, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025 The cameo feature, which allows your child’s likeness to be potentially duplicated in video form, and misused. ​wendy Wisner, Parents, 30 Oct. 2025 Those past titles didn’t come amid this new era of unlimited transfers and name, image and likeness money, which have flattened the top of the sport. Chris Vannini, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2025 Jersey sales was probably one of the most egregious hypocrisies of the NCAA’s amateurism rule for student athletes, which stipulated that players were never to benefit financially from their name, image and likeness — even if others did. Andrea Williams, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for likeness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for likeness
Noun
  • In places like Kemusuk, a village near Yogyakarta where he was born, his image is everywhere – from museum memorabilia celebrating his life to the souvenir T-shirts with his smiling face.
    Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2025
  • In this image, Johns sits on a table littered with liquor bottles.
    Hilton Als, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The original bell was replaced on the underwater ship with a replica, engraved with the 29 sailors' names on it.
    Doyle Rice, USA Today, 9 Nov. 2025
  • The private museum also has a replica of Sputnik 1, Project Apollo displays, and an Engine Evolution area that lets visitors get a close-up view of rocket engines and jet turbines.
    Iona Brannon, Travel + Leisure, 8 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • That Bezos up on stage bore a strong resemblance to the one who attended high school in Miami.
    Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
  • First, the aircraft’s fuselage emerged from inside a specialized cargo plane, known as an Airbus Beluga because of its resemblance to beluga whales.
    Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Where the film succeeds is in its depiction of John and Greta as pawns of larger societal forces.
    Sarah Weinman, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2025
  • These findings are at odds with Newsom’s constant depiction of California as an inspiring, pace-setting place with the fourth-largest economy in the world.
    U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The data paints a picture of an urgent drive to develop capacity for new and more sophisticated missiles.
    Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
  • There are no birth announcements for my mother or her sister, but there are pictures of them in cowboy costumes at a photo studio sometime in the mid 1950s.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The similarities and the differences between England and Australia are nothing new.
    Darren Richman, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Despite some similarities and speculation, the new comet likely originated from our solar system's Oort Cloud and is not directly connected to 3I/ATLAS.
    Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • In this intimate portrait of life during the exhilarating early days of the women’s liberation movement in Scandinavia in the 1970s, Pernille Ipsen tells the stories of the seven women who raised her, who were all part of the women’s movement in Denmark.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Elizabeth was often photographed wearing them to galas and other royal occasions, and sat for a portrait with the jewels in the 1950s.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 9 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • His oldest child, musician Jesse Wood, was 39 years old when the twins were born.
    Sari Hitchins, Parents, 7 Nov. 2025
  • The twins partnered with HomeGoods to embrace early holiday decorating, sharing insights on sisterhood, family traditions, and essentials to celebrate the season.
    Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 7 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Likeness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/likeness. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.

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