Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Similar or alike in such a way as to permit the drawing of an analogy.
  • adjective Biology Similar in function but not in structure and evolutionary origin.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In general, having analogy; corresponding (to something else) in some particular or particulars, while differing in others; bearing some resemblance or proportion: sometimes loosely used for similar.
  • Specifically In chem., closely alike, but differing in some degree as to each of the more prominent characters.
  • In botany, resembling in form but not in plan of structure.
  • In biology, similar physiologically but not anatomically; like in function but not in structure: the opposite of homologous. See analogy, 5.
  • In logic, from Albertus Magnus down to modern writers, applied to terms which are homonymous or equivocal in a special way, namely, those in which the identity of sound is not accidental, but is based upon a trope or upon some other reason.
  • In all senses used with to, sometimes with. Synonyms Correspondent, similar, like.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Having analogy; corresponding to something else; bearing some resemblance or proportion; -- often followed by to.
  • adjective (Pyroelect.) that pole of a crystal which becomes positively electrified when heated.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having analogy; corresponding to something else; bearing some resemblance or proportion;—often followed by "to".

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective similar or equivalent in some respects though otherwise dissimilar
  • adjective corresponding in function but not in evolutionary origin

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Latin analogus, from Greek analogos, proportionate : ana-, according to; see ana– + logos, proportion; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin analogia, from Ancient Greek αναλογία ("proportion") + -ous. See logic.

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Examples

  • The title “Son of God,” or simply “Son,” [1] thus became for Jesus a title analogous to “Son of man,” and, like that, synonymous with the

    The Life of Jesus Renan, Ernest, 1823-1892 1863

  • The title "Son of God," or simply "Son," [1] thus became for Jesus a title analogous to "Son of man," and, like that, synonymous with the

    The Life of Jesus Ernest Renan 1857

  • But there is no rational reason the default should be anything other than what it would be in analogous cases — the man donates his sperm for the woman to do with as she pleases.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Sex Discrimination in Child Naming Law 2010

  • If Smith had invited McMeans over for a talk and the repair man came over, and McMeans assaulted him, assuming the risk was clearly known (for example, he had a history of third parties in analogous circumstances to the point where the attack was not unexpected), I could see Smith being liable under either duty to warn or duty to police premises.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Stalking Victims’ Duty to Warn Employees, Lovers, Visitors, and Others? 2010

  • Other courts in analogous situations have concluded that the impossibility was factual: State v. Mitchell, 170 Mo.

    Matthew Yglesias » Financial Crisis and Causation 2010

  • Once you get to a substantive compliance analysis for "cruel, inhuman, and degrading" you get the position that the substantive standard is the same as it is in analogous U.S. constitutional law.

    Shock the Conscience 2009

  • (Perhaps this in analogous to the question of whether clinical depression is simply the tail end of natural variations of being “blue”).

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Adderall 2010

  • It could be described as analogous to Bob Geldof or Bono running for taoiseach.

    Youssou N'Dour: the singer who changed his tune | Observer profile 2012

  • (I'd like to frame that question in analogous/homologous terms, but I'm afraid I'd get something backwards.)

    Misery Harp Matthew Guerrieri 2008

  • As a domain analogous to the domains of pragmatics, ethics, politics, etc., then, as the study of how and why we construct our personal and individual aesthetics, of whether or not there are universal principles underlying the process of construction, the field of aesthetics is not simply asking the questions "What is art?" and "What is beauty?".

    The Art of Life Hal Duncan 2007

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