analogous
uh-NAL-uh-guss · adjective
Comparable in certain relevant respects, though not identical.
Memory connection
Picture “a nail, a goose”
Picture a nail and a goose gleaming in the rain. They are completely different objects but analogous in that one visible quality.
The sound cue helps you reach the scene; the action in the scene carries you from the scene to the definition.
Use it accurately
Meaning in context
The immune system is sometimes described as analogous to a security network.
Her role in the regional office is analogous to mine at headquarters.
Analogous normally identifies a limited structural similarity. Use analogous to in careful American English, and explain the relevant point of comparison.
Common patterns
- analogous to
- roughly analogous
- an analogous situation
Quick check
Can you retrieve the meaning?
What does an analogy claim about two things?
Choose an answer, then explain it in your own words.