Meaning & use

analogy

noun·Academic

A comparison between two different things to explain or clarify an idea by highlighting similarities.

See it in a sentence

The teacher used an analogy comparing the heart to a pump to explain circulation.

She drew an analogy between raising a business and raising a child.

A note on using this word

An effective analogy clarifies an unfamiliar idea by linking it to something familiar, but a weak one can mislead.

Words with a similar meaning

comparisonparallelsimilarity

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “analogy”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.