Definition of ANALOGOUS (original) (raw)
: 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
An 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
Synonyms of analogous
Choose the Right Synonym for analogous
all the houses in the development are similar
analogous applies to things belonging in essentially different categories but nevertheless having many similarities.
analogous political systems
parallel suggests a marked likeness in the development of two things.
the parallel careers of two movie stars
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
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That said, the extra boost from set-top boxes and connected TVs isn’t likely to beat out the final tally for the analogous broadcast in 2017. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Nov. 2025 That case established a new Second Amendment test, holding that modern-day regulations regarding gun rights must have an analogous historical regulation. —Solcyré Burga, Time, 27 Oct. 2025 As fiction films do something analogous to what is done in prose forms like the novel and the short story, so nonfiction films can have a broad choice of nonfiction literary models. —Susan Sontag, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2025 To affordably resolve the vast space between the Sun and the planets, researchers divide the space into large cubes—analogous to two-dimensional pixels in a camera. —JSTOR Daily, 24 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for analogous
Word History
Etymology
Latin analogus "proportionate" (Medieval Latin, "conforming to analogy") + -ous; analogus borrowed from Greek análogos "proportionate, conformable," parasynthetic derivative from anà lógon "proportionately," from aná "up, throughout" + lógon, accusative of lógos "word, speech, relation, correspondence, proportion" — more at ana-, legend
First Known Use
1646, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of analogous was in 1646
Browse Nearby Words
Cite this Entry
“Analogous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analogous. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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Last Updated: 4 Nov 2025 - Updated example sentences
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