Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.
- n. A comparison based on such similarity. See Synonyms at likeness.
- n. Biology Correspondence in function or position between organs of dissimilar evolutionary origin or structure.
- n. A form of logical inference or an instance of it, based on the assumption that if two things are known to be alike in some respects, then they must be alike in other respects.
- n. Linguistics The process by which words or morphemes are re-formed or created on the model of existing grammatical patterns in a language, often leading to greater regularity in paradigms, as evidenced by helped replacing holp and holpen as the past tense and past participle of help on the model of verbs such as yelp, yelped, yelped.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In mathematics, an equation between ratios. This use is obsolete except in a few phrases, as Napier's analogies, which are four important formulas of spherical trigonometry.
- n. An agreement, likeness, or proportion between the relations of things to one another; hence, often, agreement or likeness of things themselves. Analogy strictly denotes only a partial similarity, as in some special circumstances or effects predicable of two or more things in other respects essentially different: thus, when we say that learning enlightens the mind, we recognize an analogy between learning and light, the former being to the mind what the latter is to the eye, enabling it to discover things before hidden.
- n. Specifically In logic, a form of reasoning in which, from the similarity of two or more things in certain particulars, their similarity in other particulars is inferred. Thus, the earth and Mars are both planets, nearly equidistant from the sun, not differing greatly in density, having similar distributions of seas and continents, alike in conditions of humidity, temperature, seasons, day and night, etc.; but the earth also supports organic life; hence Mars (probably) supports organic life—is an argument from analogy. See
induction . - n. In grammar, conformity to the spirit, structure, or general rules of a language; similarity as respects any of the characteristics of a language, as derivation, inflection, spelling, pronunciation, etc.
- n. In biology, resemblance without affinity; physiological or adaptive likeness between things morphologically or structurally unlike: the opposite of homology. Thus, there is an analogy between the wing of a bird and that of a butterfly, both being adapted to the same physiological purpose of flight, but there is no morphological relation between them. Analogy rests upon mere functional (that is, physiological) modifications; homology is grounded upon structural (that is, morphological) identity or unity. Analogy is the correlative of physiology, homology of morphology; but the two may be coincident, as when structures identical in morphology are used for the same purposes and are therefore physiologically identical.
Wiktionary
- n. A relationship of resemblance or equivalence between two situations, people, or objects, especially when used as a basis for explanation or extrapolation.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A resemblance of relations; an agreement or likeness between things in some circumstances or effects, when the things are otherwise entirely different. Thus, learning
enlightens the mind, because it is to the mind whatlight is to the eye, enabling it to discover things before hidden. - n. (Biol.) A relation or correspondence in function, between organs or parts which are decidedly different.
- n. (Geom.) Proportion; equality of ratios.
- n. (Gram.) Conformity of words to the genius, structure, or general rules of a language; similarity of origin, inflection, or principle of pronunciation, and the like, as opposed to
anomaly .
WordNet 3.0
- n. an inference that if things agree in some respects they probably agree in others
- n. drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect
- n. the religious belief that between creature and creator no similarity can be found so great but that the dissimilarity is always greater; any analogy between God and humans will always be inadequate
Etymologies
- From Latin analogia, from Ancient Greek ἀναλογία (analogia), from ἀνά (ana) + λόγος (logos, "speech, reckoning") (Wiktionary)
- Middle English analogie, from Old French, from Latin analogia, from Greek analogiā, from analogos, proportionate; see analogous. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Dr. Priestley founds, not on the _resemblance or analogy, _ but on the _essential difference_, between created and uncreated intelligence; but, in point of fact, the _difference_, great and real as it is, has no bearing on the only question at issue; it is the _resemblance or analogy_ between all thinking beings and the”
Modern Atheism under its forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Development, and Natural Laws
“The inference of intelligence from marks of design in nature is not one of analogy, but of strict and proper _induction_; and accordingly we must either deny that there are marks of _design_ in nature, thereby discarding the _analogy_, or do violence to our own reason by resisting the fundamental law of causality, thereby discarding the inductive inference.”
Modern Atheism under its forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Development, and Natural Laws
“As for the cost of setting these things up - the Mr and Mrs Britain analogy is a good one.”
“But what I take Wittgenstein to be suggesting is: Take the label analogy seriously; and then you'll see how little of language is like that.”
“Hence, Whately uses the term analogy as an expression for the similarity of relation, and in this regard the use of analogy for our real work has no special significance.”
Criminal Psychology: a manual for judges, practitioners, and students
“The word analogy has appeared in 239 New York Times articles in the past year, including on Oct. 18 in "Not Such a Stretch to Reach for the Stars," by Kenneth Chang:”
“Neither analogy is accurate, neither brings our country honor.”
“Your analogy is also pretty screwed, I think even Bob81 would agree with me on that one.”
Tom McIntyre Explains His Picks for our 2009 Hunting and Fishing Heroes and Villians Face-Off
“This analogy is almost always noted without further comment, although in fact it may be taken further.”
“Okay the analogy is about to break down because reading a lot of different books is considered literate rather than promiscuous.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘analogy’.
-
probablyankita's list
Words are all I have to take your heart away
apartheid, techno-klutz, logorrheic, gordian knot, anodyne, odor of sanctity, finders keepers, foot-in-mouth dis..., dutch uncle, masquerade, smoke signals, furtive glance and 320 more...
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
-
G[r]eek
A collection of words found in English that are either purely Greek or have Greek etymology.
Please add with caution and certainty. Will be regularly updated by me.etymology, philosophy, laconic, disharmony, patriarchic, archaic, phlogiston, aether, aeon, angel, arachnid, rhythm and 346 more...
-
EN - academic vocabulary
Use these and get promoted
abandon, abandonment, abnormally, abstract, abstraction, abstractly, abstracts, academia, academic, academically, academics, academies and 3119 more...
-
Trigonometry
trigonometry, Trigonometry, triangle, angle, sine, cosine, tangent, trigonometric fun..., sin, cos, tan, opposite and 79 more...
-
anal
analysis, analphabetic, analogy, banal, canal, ethanal, fanal, ranal, tympanal, analogue, analyte, analphabet
-
GRE Readings
sophistry, religious, venture, touching, slander, rotunda, singular, spurious, rhetoric, virtue, temper, tardy and 133 more...
-
ana-, an-
up; back; again
anabatic, anachronism, Anabaptism, analogous, analogy, Anabaptist, anaphylaxis, anode, anaphylactic, analogue, anagram, analyze and 1 more...
-
big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
-
marginalia
exuberance, potsherds, earthbound, marcher, märchen, pastiche, transliterated, crocodile, oxbridge, jejune, publican, antithesis and 143 more...
-
eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
-
The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
-
Macbeth
ambivalence, prescient, omniscient, equivocation, soliloquy, discourse, antithesis, allusion, analogy, anthropomorphism, dramatic irony, juxtaposition and 18 more...
-
SAT Vocab
Redundant.
problematic, proclivity, prodigal, prodigious, prodigy, profane, profligate, profound, profusion, proliferation, prolific, prologue and 455 more...
-
SAT PSAT ALPHABETICAL A
abandon, abash, abate, abjure, ablution, abnegate, abominable, aboriginal, abortive, abrade, abridge, abrogate and 172 more...
-
GRE
Taisha GRE Bible
archaic, archetype, archipelago, architect, archive, arctic, ardor, arduous, argot, arid, armory, arrest and 289 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for analogy.

ruzuzu "In mathematics, an equation between ratios. This use is obsolete except in a few phrases, as Napier's analogies, which are four important formulas of spherical trigonometry."
--CD&C Feb 13, 2013
uselessness Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. Jan 25, 2007