Synonym Chooser

How is the word similarity distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of similarity are analogy, likeness, resemblance, 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 could analogy be used to replace similarity?

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

pointed out analogies to past wars

Where would resemblance be a reasonable alternative to similarity?

The words resemblance and similarity can be used in similar contexts, but resemblance implies similarity chiefly in appearance or external qualities.

statements that bear little resemblance to the truth

In what contexts can similitude take the place of similarity?

While in some cases nearly identical to similarity, 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 similarity That is true even if sports-event contracts bear similarity to sports bets. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Aug. 2025 What stood out was the songs’ similarity to nursery rhymes. Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 1 Aug. 2025 That premise is pretty much the beginning and end of the similarities between Curtiz’s film and Jordan and Mamet’s, which introduces the ingenious idea of De Niro and Penn having to pose as traveling priests to hide out from the law. Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 31 July 2025 There’s not much similarity between the two iterations. New Atlas, 31 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for similarity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for similarity
resemblance
Noun
  • The hero image from magazine’s most recent issue bears an uncanny resemblance to the now former editor-in-chief’s first cover at the helm of American Vogue.
    Elizabeth Grace Coyne, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
  • The violent scene the world watched in those videos bears little resemblance to the violence Cincinnati police officers most often encounter on patrol, and the rhetoric on social media about soaring crime rates and rampaging mobs doesn’t reflect short- or long-term trends in the city’s crime data.
    Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 14 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Similarity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/similarity. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on similarity

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