as in similar
having qualities in common
parallel lives of two friends who first met in college
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in similarity
a point which two or more things share in common
her professor pointed out some parallels between the two novels
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in equivalent
one that is equal to another in status, achievement, or value
an advance that is without parallel in the history of virology
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to match
to be the exact counterpart of
developments in the television show paralleled those in the lead actor's real life
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 parallel
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 11 May 2026
Festival organizers say additional city programming and parallel concerts will be announced in the coming months.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 11 May 2026
Matt Emma, USA Today, 12 May 2026
Quantum computers also use computing gates that allow qubits to be shuffled between these states and to run computations in parallel.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 12 May 2026
Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
How to Plan a Trip The Historic Columbia River Highway Scenic Byway runs west to east between the cities of Troutdale and The Dalles, along the Oregon–Washington state line and the Columbia River, and parallels Interstate 84, where cars move at a much faster pace.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 25 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for parallel
Adjective
Frémaux added that no sponsor had ever imposed itself on the festival, evoking the parallel case of sponsor L’Oreal.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 11 May 2026
Festival organizers say additional city programming and parallel concerts will be announced in the coming months.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 11 May 2026
Noun
Its latest release is the third-generation system lineup, developed in parallel with real-world deployment feedback.
—Matt Emma, USA Today, 12 May 2026
Quantum computers also use computing gates that allow qubits to be shuffled between these states and to run computations in parallel.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 12 May 2026
Verb
Balzac parallels the photographic image and the latent idea.
—Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
How to Plan a Trip The Historic Columbia River Highway Scenic Byway runs west to east between the cities of Troutdale and The Dalles, along the Oregon–Washington state line and the Columbia River, and parallels Interstate 84, where cars move at a much faster pace.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 25 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for parallel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parallel
Adjective
-
On the topic, Becerra noted that the state should work with an AI company to ensure that data centers stay in California and operate in a manner that benefits residents rather than causing issues similar to other states.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
On Thursday, a tipster sent us a copy of a similar bulletin drafted by Nissan in anticipation of a similar supply crunch—and an accompanying price hike for service departments.—
Byron Hurd,
The Drive,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
The similarities continued in the third period when Quinn scored the Sabres’ sixth goal on a power play, just as Demidov did in Game 5.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
The similarities to the book end there — at least on the surface.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
IndieWire,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
But, after a period of upheaval that has few equivalents in recent OM history, there are signs the club’s decision-makers are getting serious about tamping down the flames.—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
The price of a bag of fertilizer has more than doubled in Disanaayake's area, from the equivalent of $15 dollars, to $37 dollars.—
Diaa Hadid,
NPR,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Reinvention begins where your daily life finally matches you.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 May 2026
-
That kept him from matching his highest score in the PGA Championship.—
Doug Ferguson,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
There is no analogous player in this squad to Grimaldo; Marc Cucurella, the man who has displaced him in the Spain team, is positionally smart but a more effective off-ball runner than on-ball playmaker.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
The experience of using TikTok is analogous to watching TV.—
Jessica Maddox,
The Conversation,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
The pattern, named for its resemblance to the Greek letter Ω in the jet stream, is slowing the typical west-to-east movement of weather systems.—
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
-
The North American Nebula shines to the lower left of Deneb, named for its resemblance to the North American continent, while the 120-light-year-wide supernova remnant known as the Cygnus Loop glows closer to the horizon.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
Trump’s meetings with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, began at the Great Hall of the People moments after a welcome ceremony that seemed to impress the president, featuring a Chinese military honor guard and a greeting from excited schoolchildren.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
-
Matthews’s numbers are still worth watching, but Footer gives Matthews’s male counterparts perhaps too much credit.—
Brian Seibert,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
Adjective
-
The overall resolution of the Pro display is crisp, bright and certainly comparable to the MacBook Air display and possibly not far off that of the MacBook Pro.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
-
Winners may not substitute, assign, or transfer any prize or redeem any prize for cash; however, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value.—
Tim McGovern,
PEOPLE,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Parallel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parallel. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
