analogous
adjective
anal·o·gous
ə-ˈna-lə-gəs 
: similar or comparable to something else either in general or in some specific detail
Timbre in music is analogous to color in painting.—
Aaron Copland
Aaron CoplandAn airplane's joystick is somewhat analogous to the reins on a horse.
: similar in a way that invites comparison : showing an analogy or a likeness that permits one to draw an analogy
a town council and a government body that serves an analogous function
analogously
adverb
analogousness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of analogous in a Sentence
… gluons, force particles analogous to the photons of electromagnetism.
—Andrew Watson, Science, 22 Jan. 1999
… great stretches of algae, analogous to terrestrial woodlands, in which kelp fills the role of trees.
—William K. Stevens, New York Times, 5 Jan. 1999
… not by means superior to, though analogous with, human reason …
—Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, 1859
Andrew Watson, Science, 22 Jan. 1999
… great stretches of algae, analogous to terrestrial woodlands, in which kelp fills the role of trees.
—William K. Stevens, New York Times, 5 Jan. 1999
… not by means superior to, though analogous with, human reason …
—Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, 1859
Recent Examples on the Web
The same opponent dug deeper with the imaginative stretch of trying to make the arena analogous to the interstate construction that uprooted Black families in the Rondo neighborhood.
—Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 15 June 2024
British Navy officer Raj Varma is roughly analogous to The Dark Forest’s Zhang Behai, an ultracompetent member of the Chinese navy who later becomes an integral part of Space Force, Earth’s interplanetary army.
—Zing Tsjeng, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2024
Old forests are analogous to cities with life that thrives at every level.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2024
In the calculations from 2019, however, the way the information inside the black hole is encoded in the Hawking radiation is mathematically analogous to how a gravitational system is encoded in a lower-dimensional nongravitational system according to the holographic principle.
—Edgar Shaghoulian, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2022
See all Example Sentences for analogous 
Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 15 June 2024
British Navy officer Raj Varma is roughly analogous to The Dark Forest’s Zhang Behai, an ultracompetent member of the Chinese navy who later becomes an integral part of Space Force, Earth’s interplanetary army.
—Zing Tsjeng, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2024
Old forests are analogous to cities with life that thrives at every level.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2024
In the calculations from 2019, however, the way the information inside the black hole is encoded in the Hawking radiation is mathematically analogous to how a gravitational system is encoded in a lower-dimensional nongravitational system according to the holographic principle.
—Edgar Shaghoulian, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2022
See all Example Sentences for analogous
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'analogous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near analogous
Cite this Entry
“Analogous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analogous. Accessed 1 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
analogous
adjective
anal·o·gous
ə-ˈnal-ə-gəs
1
: showing analogy : similar
the two stories are analogous
2
: related by analogy
analogously
adverb
analogousness
noun
Medical Definition
analogous
adjective
anal·o·gous
ə-ˈnal-ə-gəs
: having similar function but a different structure and origin
analogous organs
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