Library / English Dictionary

LIKE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A kind of person

Example:

I can't tolerate people of his ilk

Synonyms:

ilk; like

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("like" is a kind of...):

form; kind; sort; variety (a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A similar kind

Example:

we don't want the likes of you around here

Synonyms:

like; the like; the likes of

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("like" is a kind of...):

form; kind; sort; variety (a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Resembling or similar; having the same or some of the same characteristics; often used in combination

Example:

a dreamlike quality

Synonyms:

like; similar

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

like-minded (of the same turn of mind)

look-alike (resembling closely)

suchlike (of the same kind)

Also:

same (closely similar or comparable in kind or quality or quantity or degree)

Antonym:

unlike (marked by dissimilarity)

Derivation:

likeness (similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Having the same or similar characteristics

Example:

friends are generally alike in background and taste

Synonyms:

alike; like; similar

Classified under:

Adjectives

Attribute:

alikeness; likeness; similitude (similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things)

Derivation:

likeness (similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Equal in amount or value

Example:

the same number

Synonyms:

like; same

Classified under:

Adjectives

Also:

equal (having the same quantity, value, or measure as another)

Antonym:

unlike (not equal in amount)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Conforming in every respect

Example:

the like period of the preceding year

Synonyms:

comparable; corresponding; like

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

same (closely similar or comparable in kind or quality or quantity or degree)

Derivation:

likeness (similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Feel about or towards; consider, evaluate, or regard

Example:

How did you like the President's speech last night?

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "like" is one way to...):

consider; reckon; regard; see; view (deem to be)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be fond of

Example:

I like my nephews

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot like Sue

Derivation:

likable (easy to like; agreeable)

likable ((of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings)

likeable (easy to like; agreeable)

likeable ((of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Find enjoyable or agreeable

Example:

She likes to read Russian novels

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

"Like" entails doing...:

approve (judge to be right or commendable; think well of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "like"):

cotton (take a liking to)

prefer (like better; value more highly)

care for (have a liking, fondness, or taste (for))

enjoy; love (get pleasure from)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue like the movie

Antonym:

dislike (have or feel a dislike or distaste for)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Prefer or wish to do something

Example:

Would you like to come along to the movies?

Synonyms:

care; like; wish

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "like" is one way to...):

desire; want (feel or have a desire for; want strongly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "like"):

please (be the will of or have the will (to))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They like him to write the letter

Sense 5

Meaning:

Want to have

Example:

I'd like a beer now!

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "like" is one way to...):

desire; want (feel or have a desire for; want strongly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

Membrane-Associated Guanylate Kinase Family Genes encode MAGUK (Membrane-Associated GUanylate Kinase homolog) proteins containing DHR, SH3, and C-terminal GK-like domains.

(Membrane-Associated Guanylate Kinase Family Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

They range from small and simple, like a blood glucose meter, to large and complicated, like a ventilator.

(Medical Device Safety, Food and Drug Administration)

You choose the drug plan you like best.

(Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)

A measurement of the active form of glucagon-like peptide-1 in a biological specimen.

(Active Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Measurement, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

"I cannot imagine why they should suppose I should not like a long walk," said Mary, as she went up stairs.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

You have to be doing something right because others are coming to you like bees to honey.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Hold her arms, Miss Abbot: she's like a mad cat.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

My mind is like a racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not connected up with the work for which it was built.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He stood like a statue till the danger was past, when he yielded to a fit of trembling and sank down into the wet moss.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The determination of the amount of active glucagon-like peptide-1 present in a sample.

(Active Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)