adj. 1 similar, corresponding, congruent, analogous, analogic(al), correspondent, like, matching, homologous, coordinate, equivalent, coequal, proportional, proportionate, pari passu, mutatis mutandis, in proportion, uniform; contemporary or cotemporary, contemporaneous or cotemporaneous The situation in Northern Ireland could be compared with a parallel situation in Lebanon
n. 2 analogue, match, homologue, equivalent, complement, counterpart, equal, coequal Campbell found many parallels among the legendary heroes of other cultures 3 analogy, parallelism, equivalence, complementarity, relationship, kinship, correspondence, resemblance, likeness, similarity, symmetry, equality, coequality, parity, correlation; proportion, balance, equiponderance, equipoise, counterbalance, offset One can draw parallels between the human arm, the fish's fin, and the bird's wing By way of parallel, consider the flood in the Bible and that in the Gilgamesh epic.
v. 4 correspond to or with, match, equate to or with, be likened to, correlate to or with, compare with or to, imitate, repeat, echo, iterate, reiterate, duplicate, follow, agree with; keep pace with, conform (to), balance, set off, offset, even off or up, be accompanied by, coincide with, Colloq jibe with In many respects, your attitudes towards life parallel mine when I was your age A decrease in the rate of inflation supposedly parallels a rise in interest rates.