dissimilardis‧sim‧i‧lar /dɪˈsɪmələ, dɪsˈsɪ- $ -ər/ AWL adjective 
Madonna’s career is not dissimilar to (=is quite similar to) Cher’s.► see thesaurus at different—dissimilarity /dɪˌsɪməˈlærəti, dɪsˌsɪ-/ noun [countable, uncountable]: dissimilarities between the US and Britain
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- It is hard to imagine two ethnically identical and adjoining societies so dissimilar in style and philosophy.
- Johnson held a not dissimilar reciprocal opinion, comparing Monboddo to another of his own bugbears, Rousseau.
- Marriage with close kin is generally forbidden in most societies and so, commonly, is marriage with people of dissimilar culture.
- The hull contained a mass of dissimilar metals: steel, cast and malleable iron, brass. bronze and lead.
- The organic matter is extremely old and quite dissimilar to biological material.
- There's a similar sense of humour and a dissimilar sense of space.
- They realized the advantages of working together, particularly because their temperatures were so dissimilar.
THESAURUS
if something or someone is different, they are not like something or someone else, or they are not like they were before: · You look different. Have you had your hair cut?· We’ve painted the door a different colour.· The cultures of the two countries are very different.
very different, special, or unusual and the only one of its kind. Don’t use words such as very before unique: · The book is certainly very rare, and possibly unique.· the unique wildlife of the Galapagos Islands
having a special feature or appearance that makes something different from other things, and makes it easy to recognize: · Male birds have distinctive blue and yellow markings.
[preposition] completely different from a particular person or thing: · In Britain, unlike the United States, the government provides health care.
if two people have nothing in common, they do not have the same interests or opinions and therefore cannot form a friendly relationship: · Apart from the fact that we went to the same school, we have absolutely nothing in common.
used when saying that two people or things seem very different: · There’s no resemblance between the two sisters at all.· The final product bore no resemblance to the original proposal (=it was very different).
formal not the same as something else: · These four politically dissimilar states have all signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation.
British English informal if two people are like chalk and cheese, they are completely different: · It’s hard to believe that they’re brothers – they’re like chalk and cheese!
American English informal used when saying that two people or things are very different: · You can't compare residential and commercial real estate markets. It's apples and oranges.· Obama and Romney are apples and oranges.· Comparing homemade soup to canned soup is really comparing apples and oranges.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Madonna’s career is not dissimilar to (=is quite similar to) Cher’s.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
Madonna’s career is not dissimilar to (=is quite similar to) Cher’s.· But their styles were really very dissimilar and that became very plain from the moment really that Mr Callaghan took over.· Even concordant Crohn's disease twins affected by the disease usually showed very dissimilar subclass ratios.
WORD FAMILYnounsimilarity ≠ dissimilarityadjectivesimilar ≠ dissimilaradverbsimilarly
not the same OPP similardissimilar to Madonna’s career is not dissimilar to (=is quite similar to) Cher’s.► see thesaurus at different—dissimilarity /dɪˌsɪməˈlærəti, dɪsˌsɪ-/ noun [countable, uncountable]: dissimilarities between the US and Britain