similarly
- 1In a like style or manner; in a way that resembles how something else is done.
The architect designed the new wing similarly, echoing the curves of the original building.
Both candidates answered the question similarly, stressing job growth above everything else.
Similarlikewise
Oppositedifferently
Note
As an adverb of manner, it usually sits right after its verb and tells how something was done: the sisters dressed similarly. It can also stand in front of an adjective, as in The Economist's 2013 "a similarly paralysing effect," where it marks one effect as matching another. Unlike the linking use, it stays inside its clause, and it compares normally: more similarly, most similarly.
- 2Used to introduce a statement that parallels or matches a preceding one, linking two like cases.
Sales rose in the spring quarter. Similarly, profits climbed through the summer months.
A student who skips practice rarely improves; similarly, a team that ignores film never sharpens its play.
Similarlikewise, correspondingly, equally
Note
Here the adverb connects two whole statements rather than modifying a verb, signaling that the second presents a case parallel to the first. It typically opens its clause and is followed by a comma. When it links two clauses inside one sentence, put a semicolon before it, not a comma: "rarely improves; similarly, a team…"
Practice
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Origin
Formed from "similar" combined with the adverb-forming suffix "-ly".