similarsim‧i‧lar /ˈsɪmələ, ˈsɪmɪlə $ -ər/ ●●● S1 W1 AWL adjective 
We have similar tastes in music. Both approaches seem to achieve similar results. A number of his friends had been affected in a similar way. The two products look quite similar.similar to Her ideas are quite similar to mine.similar in The two cars are very similar in size and design.broadly/roughly similar The two groups have broadly similar aims.remarkably/strikingly similar The speech was strikingly similar to one given by the American president earlier this year. → similarlyGRAMMAR: Prepositions with similar• Someone or something is similar to another person or thing: · His surname is similar to mine. ✗Don’t say: His surname is similar with mine.• People or things are similar in size, appearance, shape, character etc: · My sister and I are similar in character.COLLOCATIONSadverbsvery similar· I was in a very similar situation not so long ago.broadly/roughly similar· The new employment terms and conditions will be broadly similar to those currently in place.remarkably/strikingly/startlingly similar· The results of each study are remarkably similar.quite/fairly similar· The two species are quite similar.somewhat similar· Their reactions were somewhat similar.THESAURUSsimilar adjective almost the same: · Jo said she’d had a similar experience.· The colours are very similar, but I like this one best.like preposition similar to something or someone else: · It tastes a little like chicken.· She still looks like a teenager.alike adjective [not before noun] very similar – used especially about the way people look or behave: · She and her sister look alike.· Lawyers are all alike - I don’t trust them.close adjective very similar: · The film bears a close resemblance to real life (=is very similar).· The painting is remarkably close to the original.much the same very similar: · The glass is still made in much the same way as it was 100 years ago.· People are much the same, wherever you go.· She still looks very much the same.identical adjective exactly the same: · The two computers were identical in design.· identical namesmatching adjective having the same colour, style, pattern etc as something else – used about clothes or furniture that you wear or use together: · She wore matching silver shoes and handbag.· a dining table and matching chairsakin to something formal fairly similar to something: · These dialects are akin to Arabic, though different in several respects.
WORD ORIGINsimilar
Origin:
1500-1600 French similaire, from Latin similis ‘like, similar’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Do you have anything similar to this material but cheaper?
- I know how you feel, because I have a similar problem.
- It's bigger than Jim's room, but it's very similar.
- The law has served as a model for similar policies in other states.
- The Marines also experimented with fast-attack vehicles, similar to dune buggies.
- When you look at these two carpets, you can see that the patterns are very similar.
- Bold face letters represent amino acids identical or similar between two proteins with the numbers of amino acid residues.
- It has not yet been well defined, whether a similar approach is justified for bile duct injury after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
- Its emerging democratic polity and guided market economy are also similar.
- Scaevola's case resembles Celsus'; and there is a similar case in Ulpian.
- The present position is that various countries have enacted data protection laws which have similar patterns but significant differences of detail.
- These regions have similar inflation outlooks, low-cost labor and projected growth rates two to four times our own growth rate.
- These samples have been found to be very similar socioeconomically to a representative sample.
THESAURUS
adjective almost the same: · Jo said she’d had a similar experience.· The colours are very similar, but I like this one best.
preposition similar to something or someone else: · It tastes a little like chicken.· She still looks like a teenager.
adjective [not before noun] very similar – used especially about the way people look or behave: · She and her sister look alike.· Lawyers are all alike - I don’t trust them.
adjective very similar: · The film bears a close resemblance to real life (=is very similar).· The painting is remarkably close to the original.
very similar: · The glass is still made in much the same way as it was 100 years ago.· People are much the same, wherever you go.· She still looks very much the same.
adjective exactly the same: · The two computers were identical in design.· identical names
adjective having the same colour, style, pattern etc as something else – used about clothes or furniture that you wear or use together: · She wore matching silver shoes and handbag.· a dining table and matching chairs
formal fairly similar to something: · These dialects are akin to Arabic, though different in several respects.
Longman Language Activatorlike something or someone else similar to something or someone: · The houses here are like the ones in northern France.· My mother has a car like yours.look/feel/sound/smell/taste like: · She laughed like a child and played with her hair.· This is such beautiful material - it feels like silk.· It looks a bit like a cactus.something like (=fairly similar): · This superb almost-flourless chocolate cake is something like a brownie for grownups.nothing like (=not at all similar): · Life at college was nothing like I expected.
if one thing is similar to another, or if two or more things are similar , they are like each other: · I know how you feel, because I have a similar problem.· It's bigger than Jim's room, but it's very similar.· When you look at these two carpets, you can see that the patterns are very similar.similar to: · Do you have anything similar to this material but cheaper?· The Marines also experimented with fast-attack vehicles, similar to dune buggies.
if two or more things or people are alike , they are very similar in some way: · You lawyers are all alike. You just talk a lot, tell a few lies, and send the bill.· I think my mother and I are very much alike in some ways.· As the personal computer market matured, computer makers have realized that not all PC buyers are alike.look/think/sound etc alike: · The album is boring - all of their songs sound alike.
very similar: · Soldiers are much the same throughout the world.much the same as: · Bodie looks much the same as the day the mines closed down.much the same....as/that: · The glass is still made in much the same way as it was 100 years ago.· The warranty would cover the electric car's battery pack in much the same way that gasoline engines are protected.look/feel/smell/taste much the same: · All these wines taste much the same.
to be similar in appearance or character: · Geraldine resembled her mother in every way.· Addis Ababa soon resembled an armed camp.closely resemble: · We have produced a cloth made of pineapple fibre, closely resembling cotton but stronger.bear a strong/close/striking resemblance to: · She's seventy-six, short, round and fair, and bears a strong resemblance to my own grandmother.bear some/little/no resemblance to: · The London of the new millennium bears little resemblance to the London of my youth.
similar in size, number, quality etc so that a comparison is possible: · Climatic conditions in the two countries are roughly comparable.comparable with/to: · The size of a dolphin's brain is comparable to a human's.comparable in size/importance etc: · The planet Pluto is comparable in size to our Moon.
if something is akin to something else, it is very similar to it in character - used especially in literature: · It's a language closely akin to Arabic, and most Syrians would understand it.· It was with a feeling akin to despair that I realized the car was not going to start.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadverbs We reached broadly similar conclusions. We did not think the cuts would be of this magnitude. The two experiments produced strikingly different results. There was more humour, in much the same vein.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
· I was in a very similar situation not so long ago.
· The new employment terms and conditions will be broadly similar to those currently in place.
· The results of each study are remarkably similar.
· The two species are quite similar.
· Their reactions were somewhat similar.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES We reached broadly similar conclusions.· The project suffered a similar fate to many of its predecessors.
We did not think the cuts would be of this magnitude.· Each of the murders has followed a similar pattern.
· Kevin Phillips made a similar point in his 1993 book, ‘Boiling Point’.
· You can ask to be put in contact with others in a similar position.
· The refugee organizations now found themselves in a difficult position.
· It’s a similar sort of house.
The two experiments produced strikingly different results.· We have similar musical tastes.
· Their tastes in movies were very different.
There was more humour, in much the same vein.· Even countries with broadly similar cultures can differ in what they define as criminal.· Their conclusions, however, were broadly similar: great inequality and great poverty were inevitable in the absence of great reform.· When they work as agents for finance companies, their rates may be broadly similar though slightly higher.· Both the president and the Republican Congress want to reverse that trend with broadly similar plans.· There is an obvious danger of excessive duplication when broadly similar organizations conduct broadly similar campaigns.· Different agencies use rather different versions of this, but they all look broadly similar.· The subjects were broadly similar to those used in this study in terms of age and driving experience.
· To my mind they are remarkably similar.· By 8, an age when problems at school often emerge because of increased academic expectations, both groups were remarkably similar.· The risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome within groups were remarkably similar.· They were, he discovered, remarkably similar.· Rowntree's stringent poverty line produced remarkably similar results to those of Booth.· One is John McCain, the other is Ken Livingstone-and they are playing a remarkably similar game.· For those aged over 65 the responses were remarkably similar for both males and females.· The kinetic energy lost by a body of mass m rising through the same distance is remarkably similar:.
· This is very similar to the probit findings.· Movie on-demand represented in this scenario is very similar in technology and characteristics to interactive games.· This information about the theme is very similar to the thematic titles used by Dooling.· When Challenger called by this morning, he described a scientific experiment to me of a very similar sort.· A very similar species is the flying steamer duck.· Section 23 is very similar in terms to the other sections in this Part.· Male and female are very similar in appearance; the male is slightly larger, but the difference is usually imperceptible.· Crucian carp are also very similar but goldfish have a less-deep body and a shorter dorsal fin.
NOUN· Scaevola's case resembles Celsus'; and there is a similar case in Ulpian.· A similar case in 1988 was resolved differently.· Hundreds of similar cases waited in the wings.· Brian Roberts argues a similar case for village planning in Durham.· Yet, there have been similar cases involving congressmen in recent years, and no one suffered the way Mr Reynolds did.· In May, 1982, a similar case also challenged parents' fundamental rights.· A similar case is cited by Ulpian.
· It would appear that one, two, four and six are marked in a basically similar fashion.· So... what if a computer were built to operate in a similar fashion?· And if everyone else is rebelling in a similar fashion, we might get some decent hot hatchbacks back into circulation.· The other networks built their news departments of global depth and experience in a similar fashion.· In a similar fashion, changes in opportunities reflect the development of the social career.· The latter two factors, analysts said, would not be bolstering growth in a similar fashion this year.· Many rural areas have acted in similar fashion.· In similar fashion, we might say that the news is what news directors and journalists say it is.
· The letter has suffered a similar fate.· Other men assigned the task suffered similar fates.· East forced two short corners which proved fruitless and likewise Antrim had a similar fate.· This or a similar fate awaits the organization that stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the reality of its circumstances.· He was compared with Aristides the Just, and there were those who wished a similar fate for him.· Perhaps, like the lead coffin of Osiris, which suffered a similar fate, it is the real secret of alchemy.· There are many other groups which suffer a similar fate to women.· All you need is love - the requiem for John Lennon, prophet of peace who met a similar fate.
· A similar pattern emerged when subjects were asked to describe picture stories.· The next clear realignment followed a similar pattern.· Less deliberately structured groupings can exhibit similar patterns of socialisation, too.· It is plausible that disorder follows a similar pattern.· Section 2 will follow a similar pattern in relation to banking and the monetary system.· Work-wise it followed a similar pattern to the previous day.· A similar pattern occurred at Peterborough.· This is likely to be the case for other families with a similar pattern of inheritance.
· Other Western governments took a similar position.· The State Bar found itself in a similar position during Gov.· Matthew Lutz, 61, vice chairman and business development manager of Magnum, who held a similar position with Hunter.· Why were both Stirling and Perth in suitable and similar positions to be market towns?· Since determinism can never be proved, determinists are in an exactly similar position to theists.· These place the parties in a similar position to an asset sale, namely needing the consent of a third party.· What do people in similar positions in comparable businesses in the industry earn?
· Soon Alexander found himself teaching fellow actors, with similar problems, what he had learned.· Very similar problems arise with the interpretation of the temporal deictic expression now.· Tertullian, in his On the Resurrection of the Flesh, tells of a similar problem.· Other industrialized and densely populated countries have similar problems.· There would be a similar problem of waste of shuttering fan in situ concrete frame were used.· Cattle and horses cause similar problems where they occur.· A similar problem arises when the deferred consequences are positively reinforcing.
· Both approaches appear to achieve similar results.· A third round of injections showed similar results.· So just as Daisy had done a year or so earlier, she had made her announcement ... With similar results.· A succession of other polls have shown similar results.· Rowntree's stringent poverty line produced remarkably similar results to those of Booth.· Similar causes tend to produce similar results.· The ISIS-2 study gave similar results at 35 days.· This may sound unduly harsh, but most attempts at clarifying organizational values produce numbingly similar results.
· In Leeds, a clergyman, the Rev. Edward Jackson, had found a similar situation.· When faced with similar situations in the future, why not give yourself prior warning by asking the following question?· We can look back to a similar situation hundreds of years ago - the taming of knights in the Middle Ages.· In a similar situation two weeks ago against Denver, Barry made the game-winner.· A more satisfactory explanation might be that different moral considerations apply for different people in similar situations.· Before we do this exercise, let me tell you about a similar situation just two weeks ago.· Different counsellors can use different methods in similar situations with equal success.· How would you react if you were the boss or the employee in a similar situation?
· In a similar vein, seventeenth-century doctors puzzled over the stimulating effects of coffee and tea.· The same dialogue continues in similar vein for shepherd and herdsman.· Leapor's poems inviting friends to tea are written in a similar vein of pleasure or celebration.· In similar vein, dare it be said that the charitable function of Age Concern serves this dual function?· OSF/1.1 is essentially a modularised effort, in a similar vein to Unix System Labs's Destiny product.· In similar vein, 76% considered that companies should attach a high priority to maximising profits.· These poems along with many others in a similar vein, show that working people were articulating aspects of their experience in verse.
· In a similar way, sheets of octahedra are formed from aluminium, oxygen and hydroxyl groups.· While gonorrhea also exploded in a similar way among gay men, its preponderance was significant not only numerically but genetically.· The torso of a Dahomey woman was photographed by Penn in a similar way.· They all reacted to their fear in a similar way.· Magnetic boards are expensive and used in a similar way as felt boards.· If they have, you can embellish the tale of the Leprous Pavanne from the Introduction in a similar way.· In a similar way Paris remarks at the end of the scene: Sweet, above thought I love thee.· Many other studies have been conducted, either in exactly the same or a very similar way.
WORD FAMILYnounsimilarity ≠ dissimilarityadjectivesimilar ≠ dissimilaradverbsimilarly
almost the same OPP different: We have similar tastes in music. Both approaches seem to achieve similar results. A number of his friends had been affected in a similar way. The two products look quite similar.similar to Her ideas are quite similar to mine.similar in The two cars are very similar in size and design.broadly/roughly similar The two groups have broadly similar aims.remarkably/strikingly similar The speech was strikingly similar to one given by the American president earlier this year. → similarlyGRAMMAR: Prepositions with similar• Someone or something is similar to another person or thing: · His surname is similar to mine. ✗Don’t say: His surname is similar with mine.• People or things are similar in size, appearance, shape, character etc: · My sister and I are similar in character.COLLOCATIONSadverbsvery similar· I was in a very similar situation not so long ago.broadly/roughly similar· The new employment terms and conditions will be broadly similar to those currently in place.remarkably/strikingly/startlingly similar· The results of each study are remarkably similar.quite/fairly similar· The two species are quite similar.somewhat similar· Their reactions were somewhat similar.THESAURUSsimilar adjective almost the same: · Jo said she’d had a similar experience.· The colours are very similar, but I like this one best.like preposition similar to something or someone else: · It tastes a little like chicken.· She still looks like a teenager.alike adjective [not before noun] very similar – used especially about the way people look or behave: · She and her sister look alike.· Lawyers are all alike - I don’t trust them.close adjective very similar: · The film bears a close resemblance to real life (=is very similar).· The painting is remarkably close to the original.much the same very similar: · The glass is still made in much the same way as it was 100 years ago.· People are much the same, wherever you go.· She still looks very much the same.identical adjective exactly the same: · The two computers were identical in design.· identical namesmatching adjective having the same colour, style, pattern etc as something else – used about clothes or furniture that you wear or use together: · She wore matching silver shoes and handbag.· a dining table and matching chairsakin to something formal fairly similar to something: · These dialects are akin to Arabic, though different in several respects.