Proportional vs Similar - What's the difference?
proportional | similar |
At a constant ratio (to). Two magnitudes (numbers) are said to be proportional if the second varies in a direct relation arithmetically to the first.
:* The stopping distance is proportional to the square of the speed of the vehicle. —
In proportion (to), proportionate. More common in US than UK.
:* ...how much of the Bush administration's immediate post-9/11 emphasis on Iraq was appropriate and proportional to the overall picture of terrorism — retrieved 24 Jan 2005.
Having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable.
*
*:So this was my future home, I thought! Certainly it made a brave picture. I had seen similar ones fired-in on many a Heidelberg stein. Backed by towering hills,a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=
, title= (mathematics) Of geometrical figures including triangles, squares, ellipses, arcs and more complex figures, having the same shape but possibly different size, rotational orientation, and position; in particular, having corresponding angles equal and corresponding line segments proportional; such that one can be had from the other using a sequence of operations of rotation, translation and scaling.
That which is similar to, or resembles, something else, as in quality, form, etc.
(homeopathy) A material that produces an effect that resembles the symptoms of a particular disease
As adjectives the difference between proportional and similar
is that proportional is at a constant ratio (to). Two magnitudes (numbers) are said to be proportional if the second varies in a direct relation arithmetically to the first while similar is having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable.As a noun similar is
that which is similar to, or resembles, something else, as in quality, form, etc.proportional
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- Quotation
"How Far Will It Skid"at physicsclassroom.com.
- Quotation
similar
English
(wikipedia similar)Adjective
(en adjective)Charles T. Ambrose
Alzheimer’s Disease, volume=101, issue=3, page=200, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.}}