similar

adjective sim·i·lar \ˈsi-mə-lər, ˈsim-lər\

: almost the same as someone or something else

Full Definition of SIMILAR

: having characteristics in common : strictly comparable

: alike in substance or essentials : corresponding <no two animal habitats are exactly similar — W. H. Dowdeswell>

: not differing in shape but only in size or position <similar triangles> <similar polygons>

— sim·i·lar·ly adverb

See similar defined for English-language learners

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Examples of SIMILAR

This month, General Electric's health-care division will begin marketing a first-of-its-kind electrocardiograph machine in the U.S. Although packed with the latest technology, the battery-powered device weighs just six pounds, half as much as the smallest ECG machine currently for sale. It will retail for a mere $2,500, an 80% markdown from products with similar capabilities. —Reena Jana, Business Week, 23 & 30 Mar. 2009
There's a reason boards of directors can pluck so many CEOs out of one company and plop them into another: When it comes to management ideas and tools, many companies are surprisingly similar. They have the same hierarchies and budgeting processes. —Jena McGregor, Business Week, 8 Oct. 2007
Though the trends were similar, the new patterns of consumption varied both regionally and nationally, as they continue to do today. —John Brewer, New York Review of Books, 30 Nov. 2006
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Origin of SIMILAR

French similaire, from Latin similis like, similar — more at same

First Known Use: 1611

Related to SIMILAR

Synonyms: akin, analogous, cognate, comparable, connate, correspondent, corresponding, ditto, like, matching, parallel, resemblant, resembling, alike, such, suchlike

Antonyms: different, dissimilar, diverse, unakin, unlike

Synonym Discussion of SIMILAR

similar, analogous, parallel mean closely resembling each other. similar implies the possibility of being mistaken for each other <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>.

SIMILAR Defined for Kids