similitude

noun

si·​mil·​i·​tude sə-ˈmi-lə-ˌtüd 

-ˌtyüd

1

a

: counterpart, double

b

: a visible likeness : image

2

: an imaginative comparison : simile

3

a

: correspondence in kind or quality

b

: a point of comparison

Synonyms

• alikeness
• community
• comparability
• correspondence
• likeness
• parallelism
• resemblance
• similarity

Choose the Right Synonym for similitude

likeness, similarity, resemblance, similitude, analogy mean agreement or correspondence in details.

likeness implies a closer correspondence than similarity which often implies that things are merely somewhat alike.

a remarkable likeness to his late father

some similarity between the two cases

resemblance implies similarity chiefly in appearance or external qualities.

statements that bear little resemblance to the truth

similitude applies chiefly to correspondence between abstractions.

two schools of social thought showing points of similitude

analogy implies likeness or parallelism in relations rather than in appearance or qualities.

pointed out analogies to past wars

Examples of similitude in a Sentence

the striking similitude between that modern city and the Rome of ancient times

the two siblings, raised on opposite ends of the country, show some curious similitudes

Recent Examples on the Web

What’s all the more vexing is how this situation thematically collides with Apollo 10 ½, which dramatizes its hero’s closeness to his space-age dreams through its similitude to real life. —Vulture, 17 Oct. 2022

Human performers can play at such similitude, but robots fully embody it. —Sydney Skybetter, Wired, 8 July 2021

Whatever similitude of separation between protesters and police there had been was gone. —Sarah Ladd, The Courier-Journal, 29 May 2020

His adamant individualism is keyed precisely to his rejection of similitude to the manners of anyone else. —Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2020

Here are the top two innovations in iPad cases at CES 2011—standouts in a sea of similitude. —Tyghe Trimble, Popular Mechanics, 8 Jan. 2011

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "appearance, form, image, similarity, comparison, analogy, symbol, counterpart," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, "similarity, comparison, likeness," borrowed from Latin similitūdin-, similitūdō "resemblance, shared character, similar thing, likeness, comparison," from similis "having characteristics in common, like" + -tūdin-, -tūdō -tude — more at similar

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

similitude

noun

si·​mil·​i·​tude sə-ˈmil-ə-ˌt(y)üd 

1

: a visible likeness

2

: a comparison based on an imagined likeness

3

: similarity sense 2