analogical

American  

[an-l-oj-i-kuhl] / ˌæn lˈɒdʒ ɪ kəl /

Also analogic

adjective

1. based on, involving, or expressing an analogy.

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Other Word Forms

• analogically adverb
• analogicalness noun
• nonanalogic adjective
• nonanalogical adjective
• nonanalogically adverb
• nonanalogicalness noun
• unanalogical adjective
• unanalogically adverb

Etymology

Origin of analogical

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin analogic(us) (from Greek analogikós; see analogy, -ic) + -al ¹

Explanation

Something analogical compares two different things. An analogical expression might be "My house is so cold it's like a refrigerator in here." An analogy is a comparison — usually either a metaphor or a simile — that helps to explain something or make it clearer. Analogical things use analogies or refer to them. A comparison like "You are quiet as a mouse" or "My brother was a pig at dinner" is analogical. The Greek root is analogos, "proportionate."

Example Sentences

Over time, the analogical arguments used in Buddhist texts took on structure.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

In fact, nobody in this cold, hard-core, genre-blurring novel can be understood except in analogical terms; even a murderer finds himself bewildered to be “someone who DID things. Someone like the people in detective novels.”

From New York Times • Oct. 26, 2018

By contrast “Managers who pay attention to their own analogical thinking will make better strategic decisions and fewer mistakes.”

From Time • Dec. 7, 2015

It is this sort of analogical processing that will lead to far more impressive accomplishments in artificial intelligence: robots with agency, story writing, natural language conversation, and creative problem solving.

From Slate • Jul. 23, 2015

Clearly, if much of our knowledge is analogical in origin it cannot be certain, and the real causes of events may always escape us.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton