analogy

[ uh-nal-uh-jee ]

noun

, plural a·nal·o·gies.

1. a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based:

   the analogy between the heart and a pump.

   Synonyms: affinity, similitude, resemblance, likeness, comparison

2. similarity or comparability:

   I see no analogy between your problem and mine.

   Synonyms: correspondence

3. Biology. an analogous relationship.
4. Linguistics.
   1. the process by which words or phrases are created or re-formed according to existing patterns in the language, as when shoon was re-formed as shoes, when -ize is added to nouns like winter to form verbs, or when a child says foots for feet.
   2. a form resulting from such a process.
5. Logic. a form of reasoning in which one thing is inferred to be similar to another thing in a certain respect, on the basis of the known similarity between the things in other respects.

analogy

/ əˈnælədʒɪ; ˌænəˈlɒdʒɪkəl /

noun

1. agreement or similarity, esp in a certain limited number of features or details
2. a comparison made to show such a similarity

   to draw an analogy between an atom and the solar system

3. biology the relationship between analogous organs or parts
4. logic maths a form of reasoning in which a similarity between two or more things is inferred from a known similarity between them in other respects
5. linguistics imitation of existing models or regular patterns in the formation of words, inflections, etc

   a child may use ``sheeps'' as the plural of ``sheep'' by analogy with ``dog'', ``dogs'', ``cat'', ``cats'', etc

analogy

1. A comparison of two different things that are alike in some way ( see metaphor and simile ). An analogy attributed to Samuel Johnson is: “Dictionaries are like watches; the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be expected to go quite true.”

Derived Forms

• analogical, adjective
• ˌanaˈlogically, adverb
• aˈnalogist, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of analogy¹

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin analogia, from Greek; analogous, -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of analogy¹

C16: from Greek analogia ratio, correspondence, from analogos analogous

Example Sentences

“A lot of people like to use a baseball analogy. Some say we’re in the early innings. Well, our analysts think we’re still in batting practice, meaning we are not even in the game yet,” CFRA’s Stovall noted.

From Salon

“In this approach the currently fixed geometry of quantum theory, tied to the Born rule for quantum probabilities, becomes dynamical, in analogy with dynamical spacetime metric of general relativity,” Minic said.

From Salon

“Even very young children are adept at learning abstract rules from just a few examples,” Mitchell and colleagues wrote last year after subjecting GPT bots to a series of analogy puzzles.

From Los Angeles Times

The Post won’t stop hemorrhaging editors and subscribers with the see-through bandages of illogic and flawed analogy offered by Bezos.

From Salon

To explain how flat the mirrors are, Dr Frank Rohmund, president of semiconductor manufacturing optics at Zeiss, uses a topographical analogy.

From BBC

Related Words

• comparison
• correlation
• metaphor
• parallel