What does analogically mean?
Analogically is a formal adverb meaning 'in a manner based on analogy' — that is, by way of comparison between two things that resemble each other in some relevant respect. When someone reasons analogically, they draw conclusions about one subject by mapping what they know about a similar subject onto it: a doctor might explain the heart's valves analogically by likening them to doors, or a judge might argue analogically by citing a precedent case with parallel facts. The word appears most often in scholarly registers — philosophy, theology, law, and pedagogy — where writers want to signal explicitly that their argument proceeds through resemblance rather than through strict logical deduction or direct empirical evidence. Its root lies in the Greek 'analogia', meaning proportion or correspondence, which passed into Latin and then English alongside related terms such as 'analogy' and 'analogous'. Though uncommon in everyday speech, analogically is valuable whenever clarity demands that a comparison-based mode of thought be named precisely.
adverbAnalogically means by way of analogy — that is, in a manner based on, or reasoning through, a comparison between two things that are alike in some respect. It is used chiefly to describe arguments or expressions that proceed from the similarity of one thing to another.
- In a manner based on or proceeding by analogy; by comparison of similarities rather than by direct logical deduction.
"The lawyer argued analogically, showing how the new case mirrored one decided years earlier."
"She explained the immune system analogically, comparing it to an army defending a city."
"The theologian reasoned analogically, arguing that God's relationship to creation resembles that of an author to a story."
The word 'analogically' is built on one of humanity's oldest thinking tools: understanding the unfamiliar by mapping it onto the familiar.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of analogically
Analogically derives from the Greek 'analogia', meaning 'proportion' or 'correspondence', a term used by ancient Greek mathematicians and philosophers such as Aristotle to describe relations of likeness between things. The Greek word passed into Latin as 'analogia' and entered English in the sixteenth century, giving rise to the noun 'analogy' and the adjective 'analogous'; the adverb 'analogically' developed from these forms, appearing in English scholarly usage by around the seventeenth century. It shares its ultimate root with cognates such as 'analogy' and 'analogous', all ultimately tracing back to the Greek elements 'ana-' ('according to') and 'logos' ('ratio, relation').
Related word forms
How analogically is actually used
Analogically is a formal word found mainly in academic writing — philosophy, theology, law, and science education — where authors explicitly frame their reasoning as analogy-based. It is rarely used in casual conversation; speakers more often simply say 'by analogy'.
Easily confused with analogically
Analytically refers to reasoning by breaking something into its parts or examining it logically, whereas analogically refers to reasoning by comparing one thing to another similar thing.