When describing two things that are the same, or almost the same, similarity transition words will help you signal that you’re highlighting similarities.
Transition words, also called signal words, clue words, or discourse markers, are important for structuring your speech or writing. They help indicate how you are connecting different ideas, such as describing similarities and differences.
Similarity transition words
In searching for transition words for similarities, you have probably already discovered ‘similarly’. This adverb can be placed at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle, depending on the structure.
Here are some example sentences using ‘similarly’ as a signal word:
- We have seen a considerable increase in sales of climbing equipment this year. Home gym sales have done similarly well.
- The two friends looked like twins, they were so similarly dressed.
- The Swedish team excelled at ski jumping. Similarly, they took several medals in cross-country skiing.
This is all well and good, but using the same transition word for similarity again and again can get repetitive and sound unimaginative.
Other transition words for ‘similarly’
Fortunately, there are some other similarity transition words you can use to vary your language. These include:
- Like
- Similar to
- Likewise
- Analogous to
- In a similar fashion
- Correspondingly
- In parallel
Be careful, because ‘likewise’ can also be used as a transition word for addition.
Let’s look at how you can use these words and phrases to discuss similarities in sentences:
- Elise looks like her mother.
- This recipe is similar to the one I followed last time.
- Justin has apologized for his behavior yesterday. I suggest you do likewise.
- This situation is analogous to what occurred last year.
- The man trudged slowly around the park. His dog followed in a similar fashion.
- She has limited comprehension of French, and her conversation skills are correspondingly weak.
- Cases of depression tend to increase in parallel with the cost of living.
You’ll notice that some of these can describe physical characteristics whereas others are more for patterns or trends. You can check a detailed dictionary definition for more context around when to use these.
Transition words for equality
What if you are comparing things that are not just similar, but exactly the same? In this situation, you can use some different transition words to describe equality:
- Equally
- Just as…
- As … as
- Identically
- In the same way / fashion
- Equivalent to
- The same as
- In equal measure
And here are some example sentences:
- Elaine has always been a chatterbox and her younger sister is equally talkative.
- Just as you have the right to ask for a pay raise, your employer has the right to refuse.
- Chocolate milkshake is as delicious as vanilla.
- It seemed as if the gymnasts were identically skilled.
- This machine works in the same way as a hairdryer, but on a much larger scale.
- This proposal is equivalent to declaring bankruptcy.
- You look just the same as you did ten years ago!
- This whole situation is funny and depressing, in equal measure.
Describing differences
Some of these transition words for similarity can be used in their opposite form to describe differences. For example, ‘like’ becomes ‘unlike’ and ‘equivalent to’ becomes ‘opposite to’.
We have a larger list of transition words to compare and contrast which goes into more detail about highlighting differences between things.
Conclusion
By now, you should have a good repertoire of alternative transition words for similarly. Practice using these when speaking or writing, and you’ll soon feel confident using a more varied vocabulary.
Can you think of any other words or phrases that should be on this list? Or do you want to check whether you are using one of these correctly in a sentence? Leave a comment below to share your suggestion or question.
You may also want to check out these other resources about different types of discourse markers:
- Cause and effect
- Giving examples
- Concluding and ending
- Sequencing and ordering
- Ephasizing or highlighting
