similar

sim·i·lar
S1I1M3I1L1A1R1
UK/ˈsɪm.ɪ.lə/UK/ˈsɪm.ə.lə/Canada, US/ˈsɪm.ə.lɚ/Canada, US/ˈsɪm.lɚ/

adjective

Having traits or characteristics in common; alike, allied, comparable.

“My new car is quite similar to my old one, except it has a bit more space in the back.”

Very commonScrabble 9

Meanings

adjectivesimilar (comparative more similar, superlative most similar)

comparative more similar · superlative most similar

  1. Having traits or characteristics in common; alike, allied, comparable.

    My new car is quite similar to my old one, except it has a bit more space in the back.

    2 more examples

    So this was my future home, I thought! Certainly it made a brave picture. I had seen similar ones fired-in on many a Heidelberg stein. Backed by towering hills,[…]a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.

    1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC

    Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.

    2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200
  2. mathematicsHaving the same shape, in particular, having corresponding angles equal and corresponding line segments proportional.
  3. linear algebraOf two square matrices; being such that a conjugation sends one matrix to the other.
nounsimilar (plural similars)

plural similars

  1. That which is similar to, or resembles, something else, as in quality, form, etc.
  2. homeopathyA material that produces an effect that resembles the symptoms of a particular disease.

Synonyms & antonyms

antonym(s) of “alike”

Opposite

adjectivemarked by correspondence or resemblance

Opposite

adjectivehaving the same or similar characteristics

Similar

adjectiveresembling or similar; having the same or some of the same characteristics; often used in combination

adjective(of words) expressing closely related meanings

Similar

adjectivecapable of replacing or changing places with something else; permitting mutual substitution without loss of function or suitability

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinsimilis“like”
  2. Medieval Latinsimilaris
  3. Frenchsimilaire
  4. Englishsimilar

From French similaire, from Medieval Latin similaris, extended from Latin similis (“like”); akin to simul (“together”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ὅμοιος
  • ὅμοιος (hómoios)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Arabic مُمَاثِل
  • مُمَاثِل (mumāṯil)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Bengali অনুরূপ
  • অনুরূপ (onurup)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Bulgarian подо́бен, сходен
  • подо́бен (podóben)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • сходен (shoden)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • подобен (podoben)of geometric figures, having the same shape
Catalan similar, semblant
  • similarhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • semblanthaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Chinese Cantonese 差唔多
  • 差唔多 (caa¹ m⁴ do¹)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Chinese Mandarin 類似 /类似, 差不多
  • 類似 /类似 (lèisì)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • 差不多 (chàbùduō)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • 相似 (xiāngsì)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • 相似 (xiāngsì)of geometric figures, having the same shape
Czech podobný, podobný
  • podobnýhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • podobnýof geometric figures, having the same shape
Danish lignende, magen til
  • lignendehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • magen tilhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Dutch dergelijk, vergelijkbaar
  • dergelijkhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • vergelijkbaarhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • soortgelijkhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Esperanto simila
  • similahaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Finnish samanlainen, yhdenmuotoinen
  • samanlainenhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • yhdenmuotoinenof geometric figures, having the same shape
French similaire, semblable
  • similairehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • semblablehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
German ähnlich, ähnlich
  • ähnlichhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • ähnlichof geometric figures, having the same shape
Greek παρόμοιος, όμοιος
  • παρόμοιος (parómoios)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • όμοιος (ómoios)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • όμοιος (ómoios)of geometric figures, having the same shape
Hebrew דומה, משול
  • דומה (domé)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • משול (mashúl)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • דומה (domé)of geometric figures, having the same shape
Hindi समान, अनुरूप
  • समान (samān)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • अनुरूप (anurūp)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Hungarian hasonló
  • hasonlóhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Icelandic einslaga, einslagaður
  • einslagaof geometric figures, having the same shape
  • einslagaðurof geometric figures, having the same shape
  • einshyrndurof geometric figures, having the same shape
Indonesian serupa, mirip
  • serupahaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • miriphaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Italian simile, somigliante
  • similehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • somigliantehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • rassomigliantehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • simileof geometric figures, having the same shape
Japanese 似ている, 相似
  • 似ている (nite iru)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • 相似 (sōji)of geometric figures, having the same shape
Korean 비슷하다, 같다
  • 비슷하다 (biseuthada)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • 같다 (gatda)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Latin similis
  • similishaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Latvian līdzīgs
  • līdzīgshaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Lithuanian panašus
  • panašushaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Malay serupa
  • serupahaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Māori oropapa
  • oropapahaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Norwegian Bokmål lignende, liknende
  • lignendehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • liknendehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Persian مشابه, مانند
  • مشابه (mošâbe)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • مانند (mânand)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • شبیه (šabih)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Polish podobny, podobny
  • podobnyhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • podobnyof geometric figures, having the same shape
Portuguese parecido, semelhante
  • parecidohaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • semelhantehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • similarhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Romanian similar, asemănător
  • similarhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • asemănătorhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • asemeneaof geometric figures, having the same shape
Russian подо́бный, похо́жий
  • подо́бный (podóbnyj)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • похо́жий (poxóžij)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • схо́жий (sxóžij)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • схо́дный (sxódnyj)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • подо́бный (podóbnyj)of geometric figures, having the same shape
Scottish Gaelic coltach
  • coltachhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Slovak podobný
  • podobnýhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Spanish similar, semejante
  • similarhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • semejantehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • parecidohaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • parejohaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • equiparablehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • semejanteof geometric figures, having the same shape
Swedish liknande
  • liknandehaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Tagalog hawig, kahawig
  • hawighaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • kahawighaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • hawigof geometric figures, having the same shape
  • kahawigof geometric figures, having the same shape
Thai คล้าย
  • คล้าย (kláai)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Turkish benzer, müşabih
  • benzerhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • müşabihhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • mümasilhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Ukrainian поді́бний, схо́жий
  • поді́бний (podíbnyj)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • схо́жий (sxóžyj)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • поді́бний (podíbnyj)of geometric figures, having the same shape
Urdu سمان
  • سمان (samān)having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Vietnamese giống, tựa
  • giốnghaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • tựahaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • nhưhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • giống nhưhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
  • tựa nhưhaving traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable
Cite this entry
APA

similar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/similar

MLA

“similar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/similar. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “similar,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/similar.

Source: similar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.