From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsimilarsim‧i‧lar /ˈsɪmələ, ˈsɪmɪlə $ -ər/ ●●● S1 W1 AWL adjective LIKE/SIMILARalmost the same OPP different → alike 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 similarI was in a very similar situation not so long ago.broadly/roughly similarThe new employment terms and conditions will be broadly similar to those currently in place.remarkably/strikingly/startlingly similarThe results of each study are remarkably similar.quite/fairly similarThe two species are quite similar.somewhat similarTheir reactions were somewhat similar. THESAURUSsimilar adjective almost the sameJo 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 elseIt 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 behaveShe and her sister look alike.Lawyers are all alike - I don’t trust them.close adjective very similarThe film bears a close resemblance to real life (=is very similar). The painting is remarkably close to the original. much the same very similarThe 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 sameThe 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 togetherShe wore matching silver shoes and handbag.a dining table and matching chairsakin to something formal fairly similar to somethingThese dialects are akin to Arabic, though different in several respects.
Examples from the Corpus
similar• 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.• Its emerging democratic polity and guided market economy are also similar.• It has not yet been well defined, whether a similar approach is justified for bile duct injury after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.• Bold face letters represent amino acids identical or similar between two proteins with the numbers of amino acid residues.• Scaevola's case resembles Celsus'; and there is a similar case in Ulpian.• These regions have similar inflation outlooks, low-cost labor and projected growth rates two to four times our own growth rate.• The present position is that various countries have enacted data protection laws which have similar patterns but significant differences of detail.• The law has served as a model for similar policies in other states.• I know how you feel, because I have a similar problem.• These samples have been found to be very similar socioeconomically to a representative sample.• The Marines also experimented with fast-attack vehicles, similar to dune buggies.• Do you have anything similar to this material but cheaper?remarkably/strikingly similar• By 8, an age when problems at school often emerge because of increased academic expectations, both groups were remarkably similar.• Despite the difference in overall level of performance the relationship between risk and recognition performance in the two studies was remarkably similar.• To my mind they are remarkably similar.• For those aged over 65 the responses were remarkably similar for both males and females.• These cases have followed a strikingly similar pattern.• All 43 Texas Cowboys and pledges who were at the initiation picnic in Bastrop County tell strikingly similar stories about that night.• The comet Tempel-Tuttle follows an orbit that is strikingly similar to that of the Leonids.• Often Dawson's ideas are remarkably similar to those of Eliot.Origin similar (1500-1600) French similaire, from Latin similis “like, similar” 