analogize

American  

[uh-nal-uh-jahyz] / əˈnæl əˌdʒaɪz /

especially British, analogise

verb (used without object)

analogized, analogizing

1. to make use of analogy in reasoning, argument, etc.

2. to be analogous; show analogy.

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verb (used with object)

analogized, analogizing

1. to make analogous; show an analogy between.

   to analogize a dog to a cat.

analogize British  

/ əˈnæləˌdʒaɪz /

verb

1. (intr) to make use of analogy, as in argument; draw comparisons

2. (tr) to make analogous or reveal analogy in

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Other Word Forms

• unanalogized adjective

Etymology

Origin of analogize

First recorded in 1645–55; analog(y) + -ize

Explanation

When you analogize, you explain one thing by comparing it to another. You make an analogy. If you say that DNA is like a twisted ladder, you analogize to make it easier for someone to imagine. The word analogize comes from the Greek analogizesthai which basically means "to sum up." When you analogize something, you sum it up by making a comparison. In literature, similes and metaphors are used to analogize. The poet Robert Burns analogizes when he writes, "My love is like a red, red rose." If a babysitter complains, "These kids are like a pack of wild dogs," he analogizes the kids and dogs. And he probably won’t be back.

Example Sentences

I analogize it to local entities and services, even law enforcement, don’t check your tax returns.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026

You analogize that to how, after Brown v.

From Salon • Jul. 14, 2024

“They’d like to analogize this with the ho-hum updating of the flu vaccine each year — don’t think about it, just get it,” said William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University.

From Washington Times • Oct. 12, 2023

In this case, speakers analogize the “s” sound at the end of “gracias” and apply it to the English form.

From Scientific American • Jun. 14, 2023

If you wish to analogize the Hot 100 to the federal government, you can think of radio as the judicial branch—slow-moving and defined by custom and format.

From Slate • Feb. 22, 2017