similarity
Americannoun
plural
similarities-
the state of being similar; likeness; resemblance.
- Synonyms:
- parallelism, correspondence, similitude
- Antonyms:
- difference
-
an aspect, trait, or feature like or resembling another or another's.
a similarity of diction.
Related Words
See resemblance.
Other Word Forms
- nonsimilarity noun
- unsimilarity noun
Etymology
Origin of similarity
Explanation
You might get annoyed if people keep saying there is a similarity between you and your older sister, particularly if you're tired of being compared to her. A similarity is a sameness or alikeness. When you are comparing two things — physical objects, ideas, or experiences — you often look at their similarities and their differences. Difference is the opposite of similarity. Both squares and rectangles have four sides, that is a similarity between them. Just because two things share similarities doesn't mean they are the same.
Vocabulary lists containing similarity
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 2
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Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 91-100
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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.
The perceived similarity to Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This,” a rom-com pairing a rabbi with an agnostic podcaster, is probably intentional.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
One notable example is the similarity between feline mammary cancer and human breast cancer.
From Science Daily • Mar. 18, 2026
Using what Mr. Pielke called an approximate “fuzzy match” raised the similarity to 47.8%.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
The facts in the Gray case bear an eerie similarity to the Crumbleys’.
From Slate • Mar. 5, 2026
But more than anything else, as a writer, I was fascinated by the similarity of the emotional tensions of Bigger in America and Bigger in Nazi Germany and Bigger in old Russia.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
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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.