alike
Americanadverb
-
in the same manner or form; similarly.
They treated all customers alike.
- Antonyms:
- differently
-
to the same degree; equally.
All three were guilty alike.
adjective
adjective
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of alike
First recorded before 950; Middle English alyke, from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse ālīkr, cognate with Old English onlīc, Old High German analīh; replacing Middle English ilich, Old English gelīc, cognate with Old Saxon gilīk, Old High German gilīh ( German gleich ), Gothic galeiks, Old Norse (g)līkr; see like 1
Explanation
If two things are alike, they resemble or are similar to each other. You and your sister might be alike in many ways, including your love for strawberry ice cream. If all the houses in your neighborhood look alike, it's hard to tell one from another, and if their parents always dress twin brothers alike, it's going to be impossible for people to remember who's who. Things that are alike are the same. The original form of the word was aliche, from the Old English gelic, "similar," with a Germanic root, which it shares with the word like.
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.
I bought a Hemingway-style fishing hat and then read a list of suggestions posted by a veteran contestant on the Hemingway Look Alike Society Facebook page that said do not wear a hat on stage.
From Washington Times • Jul. 27, 2023
But she also captures the seductiveness of the subcultures Alike begins to explore, and the alternative they present: the choice to live one’s truth, with no apologies.
From New York Times • Sep. 10, 2020
He penned three nationally syndicated, weekly comic strips —"Boob McNutt," "Mike and Ike: They Look Alike," and "Lala Palooza" — and wrote a single-frame cartoon called "Foolish Questions."
From The Verge • Apr. 22, 2015
This very red individual was photographed on Cuba by Cary Bass, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
From Scientific American • Sep. 17, 2012
Alike in the town of Seneca, among the scattered mountain claims, and in Jim Mason's little cabin itself, he was soon a welcome visitor, honestly liked, respected and looked up to.
From Loaded Dice by Clark, Ellery H.
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.
