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

Derived 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.