homophily

[ huh-mof-uh-lee ]

noun

1. the tendency to form strong social connections with people who share one’s defining characteristics, as age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, personal beliefs, etc.:

   political homophily on social media.

Other Words From

• ho·mo·phil·i·ous [hoh-m, uh, -, fil, -ee-, uh, s] adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of homophily¹

First recorded in 1950–55; homo- ( def ) + -phily ( def )

Example Sentences

The researchers looked at four types of network homophily, race, age, income and education and measured the diversity of respondents' friend groups within these categories on a scale of 0 to 100%, along with life satisfaction levels and feelings about social cohesion.

From Science Daily

Political homophily—love of those who are politically similar—is one of the strongest and best-documented phenomena in social science.

From Scientific American

Political homophily in the U.S. is common and increasing in intensity.

From Scientific American

Until recently, researchers believed that the main principle involved in how we select our social ties has been what the ancient Greeks called homophily, or love of the similar.

From Scientific American

Homophily leads to political segregation, which in turn intensifies hostility and polarization.

From Scientific American