similarly
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of similarly
Compare meaning
How does similarly compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When you do something similarly, you do it nearly the same way as someone else. At a school bake sale, you might decide to price your brownies similarly to your friend's Rice Krispie treats. Use the adverb similarly to describe something that's done in a way that mirrors or almost duplicates something else. If one little boy dresses up in a red cape at preschool, his best friend might costume himself similarly, in a red scarf and crown. When your neighbor tells you about her vacation in Hawaii, you might be inspired to travel similarly. The word comes from the adjective similar, which means "resembling," and has a Latin root, similis, "like."
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 intermittently affecting “Couture” feels similarly close to her heart, depicting a filmmaker whose life is interrupted by a cancer diagnosis — a reality Jolie knows all too well.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026
“At the same time, we are encouraged that Congress can prevent similarly situated taxpayers from facing the same unfair result by enacting the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 25, 2026
A few years ago he supported colleagues in a similarly contentious bid to make the strawberry shortcake the official state dessert.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026
His outsider model was adopted wholesale, including by the similarly coiffed Abelardo de la Espriella, whom a few Colombian commentators have jokingly dubbed the "Temu Bukele."
From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026
Penelope could have made a lesson out of it, for Shakespeare had described a similarly unhappy swap in his tragic play Hamlet.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
