What does analogousness mean?
Analogousness is a formal noun denoting the quality of being analogous, especially the similarity or correspondence between two things considered in relation to one another. It can describe parallel features in two texts, institutions, structures, ideas, or historical developments. For example, a writer may question the analogousness between an old legal system and a modern institution, meaning that the two possess enough significant similarities for a comparison to be illuminating. The word is more precise in tone than a general reference to similarity because it highlights correspondences relevant to comparison rather than merely isolated likenesses. It is also less common than the related and more familiar noun “analogy,” which usually denotes either a comparison itself or the relationship being illustrated. Analogousness is therefore most appropriate in analytical, academic, legal, philosophical, or historical writing where the degree and character of resemblance is central to the argument.
nounThe quality or condition of being analogous; a likeness or correspondence between things considered in relation to one another.
- The quality or condition of being analogous; likeness or correspondence between related things.
"The analogousness of the two accounts makes it difficult to treat them as entirely separate cases."
"The analogousness of the two structures permits them to be interpreted according to the same principles."
"Critics questioned the analogousness between the historical institutions and their modern counterparts."
The plural is grammatically possible but rarely needed because the noun is normally used in the singular.
"Several significant analogousnesses between the two traditions were identified."
Analogy asks how two things relate; analogousness names the resemblance itself.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does analogousness come from?
English analogousness was formed by adding the suffix “-ness” to the adjective “analogous.” Analogous was borrowed through Latin analogus from Greek analogos, a word associated with proportion and correspondence. Relatives such as “analogy” and “analogue” were likewise developed from the same Greek and Latin source.
How analogousness is actually used
Formal and relatively uncommon. In general prose, “analogy” or “similarity” is often more natural; analogousness is chiefly useful when the quality of correspondence itself is being named.
Easily confused with analogousness
Analogy is a comparison used to explain a relationship between things, whereas analogousness is the quality of their likeness or correspondence.