analogous

American  

[uh-nal-uh-guhs] / əˈnæl ə gəs /

adjective

1. having analogy; corresponding in some particular.

   A brain and a computer are analogous.

   Synonyms:

   akin, comparable, like, alike, similar

   Antonyms:

   dissimilar

2. Biology. corresponding in function, but not evolved from corresponding organs, as the wings of a bee and those of a hummingbird.

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analogous British  

/ əˈnæləɡəs /

adjective

1. similar or corresponding in some respect

2. biology (of organs and parts) having the same function but different evolutionary origin Compare homologous

   the paddle of a whale and the fin of a fish are analogous

3. linguistics formed by analogy

   an analogous plural

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analogous Scientific  

/ ə-năl′ə-gəs /

1. Similar in function but having different evolutionary origins, as the wings of a butterfly and the wings of a bird.

2. Similar in chemical properties and differing in chemical structure only with respect to one element or group.

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Usage

The use of with after analogous should be avoided: swimming has no event that is analogous to (not with ) the 100 metres in athletics

Other Word Forms

• analogously adverb
• analogousness noun
• nonanalogous adjective
• nonanalogously adverb
• nonanalogousness noun
• unanalogous adjective
• unanalogously adverb
• unanalogousness noun

Etymology

Origin of analogous

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin analogus, from Greek análogos “proportionate,” equivalent to ana- ana- + lógos “ratio”

Example Sentences

The commission’s package, which now moves to the European Parliament, would consolidate analogous authority within the Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority.

From Barron's

But executives from IBM, Microsoft and other companies say thinking of AI agents as analogous to human workers is hindering attempts to get full value from the technology.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I think it’s analogous to Amazon Web Services, where the people didn’t expect that AWS would be the most valuable part of Amazon when it started out as a bookstore.”

From Barron's

"Light drifts in a quantized manner, following universal steps analogous to those seen with electrons under strong magnetic fields," said Philippe St-Jean, a physics professor at Université de Montréal and co author of the study.

From Science Daily

Markus sees AI pilots as analogous to flipping a coin: You have a roughly 50/50 chance of it working out.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• akin
• comparable
• corresponding
• related