ANALOGY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does analogy mean? 

• ANALOGY (noun)
  The noun ANALOGY has 3 senses:

1. an inference that if things agree in some respects they probably agree in others

2. drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect

3. 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

  Familiarity information: ANALOGY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ANALOGY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An inference that if things agree in some respects they probably agree in others

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("analogy" is a kind of...):

illation; inference (the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation)

Derivation:

analogical (expressing, composed of, or based on an analogy)

analogise (make an analogy)

analogist (someone who looks for analogies or who reasons by analogy)

analogize (make an analogy)

analogous (similar or equivalent in some respects though otherwise dissimilar)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the models show by analogy how matter is built up

Hypernyms ("analogy" is a kind of...):

comparing; comparison (the act of examining resemblances)

Derivation:

analogical (expressing, composed of, or based on an analogy)

analogise (make an analogy)

analogist (someone who looks for analogies or who reasons by analogy)

analogize (make an analogy)

analogous (similar or equivalent in some respects though otherwise dissimilar)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

analogy; doctrine of analogy

Hypernyms ("analogy" is a kind of...):

faith; religion; religious belief (a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny)

 Context examples 

Now we can add another analogy with Earth and Mars: the active dust cycle, in which organic dust can be raised from large dune fields around Titan's equator.

(Dust Storms on Titan Spotted for the First Time, NASA)

How CH+ traces energy can be thought of by analogy to being on a boat in a tropical ocean on a dark, moonless night.

(ALMA Finds Huge Hidden Reservoirs of Turbulent Gas in Distant Galaxies, ESO)

The algorithm was derived in analogy to the way the densely interconnected, parallel structure of the brain processes information.

(Neural Network, NCI Thesaurus)

They argued with many examples and analogies for a good ten minutes, revolving round me at the same time with their heads on one side and their glasses to their eyes.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I thought I would push his analogy to its utmost logically, so I said quickly:—"Oh, it is a soul you are after now, is it?"

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

And I remember that the sounds they made reminded me of the squealing of pigs under the knife of the butcher, and I was struck with horror at the vividness of the analogy.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Your feelings may be the strongest, replied Anne, but the same spirit of analogy will authorise me to assert that ours are the most tender.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

It belongs to a very large, a very strong, and, by all analogy, a very fierce animal which exists upon the face of the earth, but has not yet come under the notice of science.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It's a backwards analogy, but we are actually using light to turn on and off a biological switch, said Emmanuel Tzanakakis, professor of chemical and biological engineering at the School of Engineering at Tufts University and corresponding author of the study.

(Researchers Develop Insulin-Producing Cells Activated by Light for Diabetes, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The youth and cheerfulness of morning are in happy analogy, and of powerful operation; and if the distress be not poignant enough to keep the eyes unclosed, they will be sure to open to sensations of softened pain and brighter hope.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)