What does analogous mean?
Word: Analogous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Analogous means alike in certain ways, so that the two things can be usefully compared.
Synonyms: comparable
How do you spell analogous?
Syllables: a - nal - o - gous
Tricky part: The vowel straight after the l is an o, but quick speech blurs it and many pupils write analagous.
Watch out for: analagous, analigous
Memory tip: O is for object: analogous objects get compared, so the letter after the l is the O of object.
Analogous in a sentence
Example 1: Some scientists say the human brain is analogous to a computer.
Example 2: Our system of house points is analogous to a football league table.
Example 3: The rise of mobile phones is analogous in some ways to the arrival of the printing press.
Fun Fact
An analogue clock belongs to the same word family: its moving hands act as a model of time passing, unlike digits that simply change.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Our teacher said the way a river system spreads out is analogus to the branches of a tree, and the whole class drew both in their notebooks.
a) analogus
b) notebooks
c) teacher
d) branches
Show answer
a) analogus. The word keeps the full -ous ending, so the o before the u cannot be dropped.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word analogous as used in the sentence:
In some ways a camera is analogous to the human eye.
a) superior
b) opposed
c) attached
d) similar
Show answer
d) similar. A camera and an eye share features, so they are similar; superior, attached and opposed say something else.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Learning a new language is saglaouno to learning a musical instrument.
a) adjacent
b) ambiguous
c) analogous
d) anomalous
Show answer
c) analogous. Anomalous would need an m and ambiguous a b, while adjacent has no o at all.
Spell-o-Spell
One word in the list is misspelt. Choose what that word means.
1. hazardous 2. numerous 3. analogous 4. privious
a) coming before in time or order
b) risky or dangerous
c) able to be compared
d) great in number
Show answer
a) coming before in time or order. Previous has an e after the r; numerous, hazardous and analogous are all spelt correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A teacher says a cell is analogous to a factory. What is she doing?
a) showing that cells are made by workers
b) using a familiar thing to explain a harder one
c) claiming the two are exactly the same thing
d) saying the two have nothing in common
Show answer
b) using a familiar thing to explain a harder one
2. Which pair is most clearly analogous?
a) a bird's feathers and a kitchen spoon
b) a garden wall and a violin string
c) an aeroplane's seats and a river bank
d) a bird's wings and an aeroplane's wings
Show answer
d) a bird's wings and an aeroplane's wings
