analogy

American  

[uh-nal-uh-jee] / əˈnæl ə dʒi /

noun

• analogies
  plural

1. a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based.

   the analogy between the heart and a pump.

   Synonyms:

   affinity, similitude, resemblance, likeness, comparison

2. similarity or comparability.

   I see no analogy between your problem and mine.

   Synonyms:

   correspondence

3. Biology. an analogous relationship.

4. Linguistics.

   1. 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.

   2. a form resulting from such a process.

5. 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.

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analogy British  

/ əˈnælədʒɪ, ˌænəˈlɒdʒɪkəl /

noun

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

3. biology the relationship between analogous organs or parts

4. 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

5. 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

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analogy Cultural  

1. 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.”

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Usage

What is an analogy? An analogy is a comparison made to show how two different things are similar, especially in limited ways. An analogy is a technique frequently used in literature to explain something by comparing it to something else (a literary device). There are several types of analogies you can make. A simile directly compares two seemingly unrelated things and then explains what the two items have in common to make a point. Similes often use like or as to make the comparison, as in Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. The analogy says that life, like an unlabeled box of chocolates, is mysterious and full of both pleasant and unpleasant surprises. A metaphor indirectly compares two things, as in He was a wolf among sheep in the boardroom, taking command instantly. Instead of the analogy saying the corporate executive was like a ferocious predator, it says he is a ferocious predator. The analogy makes the point that the man was aggressive and dominated the other people in the room. Analogies are complex and often rely on a reader or listener using logic to figure out what connection the user of the analogy is making. In other areas of study, such as math and science, analogies are used to infer, or to figure out through reason and logic, unknown information. For example, if you know how A is similar to B and how B is similar to C, using reason you can determine how A is similar to C.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• analogist
  noun
• analogical
  adjective
• analogically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• analogies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of analogy

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin analogia, from Greek; see analogous, -y ³

Explanation

When you draw an analogy between two things, you compare them for the purpose of explanation. The movie character Forrest Gump made a silly analogy famous: "Life is like a box of chocolates." Some standardized tests still have "analogy questions," which are given in this format: A : B :: C : ___ (read "A is to B as C is to what?"). This is a more formalized version of something we do every day: compare one thing to another. It's a useful way of speaking — if a scientist explains that the earth's forests function as its lungs, we understand the analogy to mean that both trees and lungs take in important elements from the air. But when Forrest Gump says life is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you're going to get, that's a pretty brainless analogy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

analogy analogies

Haigwood describes the three treatments with another analogy:

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

He said: "Whack-a-Mole is a very good analogy of Friday."

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

When asked whether the entire team was full speed and ready to go, he made the analogy of an airplane gathering speed down a runway before achieving flight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Using an insurance analogy, the answer is no.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

That’s the part of the analogy that’s missing.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

I’m very wary of these sort of political analogies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

But, to keep the farmyard analogies going, Serkis is bullish.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

"This opened the door to finding analogies in black holes of entropy and temperature used in thermodynamics."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026

The same could be said for the Bible, which for centuries has furnished the English language and the Western mind with phrases, analogies and images.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

I resist such analogies, but it is my preferred mode of operating not only in draughts but in politics.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• comparison
• correlation
• metaphor
• parallel