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dissimilar

American  
[dih-sim-uh-ler, dis-sim-] / dɪˈsɪm ə lər, dɪsˈsɪm- /

adjective

  1. not similar; unlike; different.

    Synonyms:
    individual, diverse, disparate, distinct
dissimilar British  
/ dɪˈsɪmɪlə /

adjective

  1. not alike; not similar; different

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • dissimilarly adverb

Etymology

Origin of dissimilar

First recorded in 1615–25; dis- 1 + similar

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

BTS has issued a different but not dissimilar concept with “Arirang.”

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026

Back in August 2023, there was a poster - not dissimilar to the School Wars one - that circulated on TikTok and Snapchat about disorder and looting on Oxford Street.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

The feeling isn’t dissimilar to trying to learn a new language, or even one that you were once semi-proficient in, that you haven’t studied with care in some time.

From Salon • Jan. 18, 2026

Downstairs in the exhibition galleries is his related sculpture of a folding card-table and four metal chairs, rendered in not dissimilar Brobdingnagian proportions.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

Although their experimental strategies were superficially dissimilar, both were studying gene regulation.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.