analogy.

A comparison using similarities between different things to explain or reason about them.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• draw an analogy
• misleading analogy

On the page

The analogy clarifies the structure but not the cause.

Usage notes

Primary category: analysis / argumentation / evidence. Forms: Singular analogy; plural analogies. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: argumentation, evidence, inference. Commonness: moderately common.