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Synonyms

kissing cousin

American  

noun

  1. kissing kin

  2. something closely related or very similar.

    a textile that is a kissing cousin to nylon.


Etymology

Origin of kissing cousin

First recorded in 1935–40


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.

See Examples For:

Not to be confused with its kissing cousin, the paradox of choice, in which too many options paralyze people from making any decision at all.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2016

Sneakily tweaking our fears of terrorism, “10 Cloverfield Lane,” though no more than a kissing cousin to its namesake, is smartly chilling and finally spectacular.

From New York Times ● Mar. 10, 2016

A few months later, during a cocktail class at Barmini, the cocktail lab next to Andrés’s extravagant Minibar here in the District, I got a chance to assemble its kissing cousin, the D.O.C.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 19, 2014

Shalhoub's emotionally explosive, overbearing opera manager is a kissing cousin of Max Bialystock, of "The Producers," and the actor bellows with a fine comic roar.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 5, 2010

No child of hers was going to forget her family name and think she was nothing but a kissing cousin to an orangutan.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

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