law of similarity
- noun
- Specialized
:
ley de la similitud
- The law of contagion (once in contact, always in contact) and the law of similarity (like produces like; the image is equal to the object) describe these superstitious rejections of food and clothing better than a disease avoidance explanation does.
Examples
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Well, they group to form a single unit by the Gestalt law of similarity because they're all dark, and also the Gestalt law of proximity.
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The designer applied the law of similarity by using similar shapes to create a cohesive visual pattern in her artwork.
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"As inelegant an application of the law of similarity as ever there was," he declared, "but it will serve."
Fiction book (1997) -
The law of similarity was useless to him here, but the law of contagion applied: once in contact, always in contact.
Fiction book (1997) -
But principles of magic, such as the law of similarity, valid, Bayard says, or Bayard says, what's the law of similarity effects resemble causes.
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In Gestalt psychology, the law of similarity suggests that elements that are similar in shape are often seen as a group.
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According to the law of similarity, a cluster of objects that share colors will likely be perceived as one single entity.
Synonyms
157
2.7
A likeness between things that makes them seem related
Surface Forms
Morphology
law + of + similarity
The meaning is directly compositional: 'law' (a general principle) + 'of' (linker) + 'similarity' (likeness) yields a principle concerning similarity. The 'law of X' construction is a standard, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The term law of similarity comes from a simple idea: when objects look alike, our eyes group them together as if they belong to the same set. So, it means 'things that look similar are seen as a group'.