akin
Americanadjective
-
of kin; related by blood (usually used predicatively).
cousins who were too closely akin for marriage.
-
allied by nature; having the same properties.
Something akin to vertigo was troubling her.
- Synonyms:
- parallel, comparable, analogous, similar, cognate
-
having or showing an affinity; kindred.
They are emotionally but not intellectually akin.
adjective
-
related by blood; of the same kin
-
(often foll by to) having similar characteristics, properties, etc
Etymology
Origin of akin
Explanation
If two things are akin, then they're similar or related. A cupcake is akin to a cake and relatives are akin to each other. If you know the word kin — a relative — then you have a clue to the meaning of akin. People who are related are akin, but the word goes beyond blood relations. Football is akin to the sport of rugby; baseball is akin to the British sport cricket. Mice are akin to rats, and rats are akin to gerbils, hamsters, and squirrels. Things that are akin are alike.
Vocabulary lists containing akin
The Kite Runner
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Dracula
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"Tinker v. Des Moines": Excerpts from Justice Fortas's Opinion
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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.
Start plotting your Roth conversions in a manner akin to a Shakespearean conspiracist.
From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026
Young workers who grew up texting and DMing seem to view many emails as one-way communiqués, akin to hard-copy memos.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
It is further insulting to gestational carriers, genetic donors, and intended parents to suggest that the mutual creation of a child is somehow akin to the bondage of chattel slavery.
From Slate • May 13, 2026
"Other than that, the cinematographic quality of it is akin to what you could see on Blue Planet or Planet Earth."
From BBC • May 8, 2026
The woman wears a dress something akin to a bridal gown constructed for a ballerina, white and frothy and laced with black ribbons that flutter in the night air.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
