analogy

[ uh-nal-uh-jee ]
See synonyms for: analogyanalogies on Thesaurus.com

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.

  2. similarity or comparability: I see no analogy between your problem and mine.

  1. Biology. an analogous relationship.

  2. Linguistics.

    • 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.

    • a form resulting from such a process.

  3. 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.

Origin of analogy

1
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin analogia, from Greek; see analogous, -y3

Other words for analogy

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

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British Dictionary definitions for analogy

analogy

/ (əˈnælədʒɪ) /


nounplural -gies
  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

  1. biology the relationship between analogous organs or parts

  2. 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

  3. 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

Origin of analogy

1
C16: from Greek analogia ratio, correspondence, from analogos analogous

Derived forms of analogy

  • analogical (ˌænəˈlɒdʒɪkəl) or analogic, adjective
  • analogically, adverb
  • analogist, noun

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

Cultural definitions for analogy

analogy

[ (uh-nal-uh-jee) ]


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.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.