Analogy Meaning
/əˈnæləd͡ʒi/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA relationship of resemblance or equivalence between two situations, people, or objects, especially when used as a basis for explanation or extrapolation.
nounThe proportion or the equality of ratios.
Sentence Examples
I see no analogy between your problem and mine.
I don't understand the analogy.
The teacher drew an analogy between the human heart and a pump.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The teacher used a garden ____ to explain how plants need nutrients just like humans need food.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She used a simple ____ to help the students understand the complex idea.
Word Origin & History
From Latin analogia, from Ancient Greek ἀναλογίᾱ (analogíā), from ἀνα- (ana-) + λόγος (lógos, “speech, reckoning”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Yet the systole and diastole of the heart are not without their analogy in the ebb and flow of love."
— 1841, Ralph Waldo Emerson, chapter 6, in Essays: First Series:
"Is there any analogy, in certain constitutions, between keeping an umbrella up, and keeping the spirits up?"
— 1869, Charles Dickens, chapter 18, in The Uncommercial Traveller:
"The old analogy likening the human mind to an imperfect mirror, which modifies the images it reflects, occurred more than once to Odo."
— 1901, Edith Wharton, chapter 12, in The Valley of Decision:
"Perhaps the easiest way to think of it is in terms of a simple analogy: hardware is to software as a television set is to the shows that appear on it."
— 1983 January 3, “How to Write Programs”, in Time:
"A kid living on the street is a bit like — and please pardon the analogy here — a weed."
— 2002, Harlan Coben, Gone for Good, →ISBN, page 75:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The teacher used a garden ____ to explain how plants need nutrients just like humans need food.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She used a simple ____ to help the students understand the complex idea.