ANALOGY Synonyms: 36 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'analogy' distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of analogy are likeness , resemblance , similarity , and similitude . While all these words mean "agreement or correspondence in details," analogy implies likeness or parallelism in relations rather than in appearance or qualities. // pointed out analogies to past wars

Q: How do 'likeness' and 'similarity' relate to one another, in the sense of 'analogy'?

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

Q: When might 'resemblance' be a better fit than 'analogy'?

In some situations, the words resemblance and analogy are roughly equivalent. However, resemblance implies similarity chiefly in appearance or external qualities. // statements that bear little resemblance to the truth

Q: When is 'similitude' a more appropriate choice than 'analogy'?

While in some cases nearly identical to analogy , similitude applies chiefly to correspondence between abstractions. // two schools of social thought showing points of similitude

analogy

noun

Definition of analogy next

as in metaphor

a way of describing or explaining one thing by means of describing another with which it shares certain points or qualities The teacher used the analogy of a common pipeline to explain bandwidth on the Internet.

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as in equivalent

resemblance in certain points or qualities between two or more otherwise unlike things The study made note of analogies between human and ape social behavior.

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word analogy distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of analogy are likeness, resemblance, similarity, and similitude. While all these words mean "agreement or correspondence in details," analogy implies likeness or parallelism in relations rather than in appearance or qualities.

pointed out analogies to past wars

How do likeness and similarity relate to one another, in the sense of analogy?

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 might resemblance be a better fit than analogy?

In some situations, the words resemblance and analogy are roughly equivalent. However, resemblance implies similarity chiefly in appearance or external qualities.

statements that bear little resemblance to the truth

When is similitude a more appropriate choice than analogy?

While in some cases nearly identical to analogy, 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 analogy Later in the day, Savitt said that Molo’s bank robbery analogy was flawed because Altman, Brockman and other OpenAI employees created the value in question in the first place. —

David Ingram, NBC news, 14 May 2026 The Super Bowl in this analogy is the midterms, coming up in November. —

Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026 Many of those players were as tough as ring-shank nails, to borrow another carpentry analogy. —

Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2026 Those are harsh analogies but not wholly inapt ones. —

Phil Plait, Scientific American, 1 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for analogy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for analogy

Noun

As industrialization advanced, the factory replaced the wheel of fortune as a metaphor for how things happen in the world.

— Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
Lear conceived Mary Hartman, the woman, as a metaphor for the condition of America itself.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 May 2026

Definition of metaphor

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analogues

analogy

analphabetic

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“Analogy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/analogy. Accessed 24 May. 2026.

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Synonyms of analogy

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