Which statement best describes analogous terms?

• A. They share identical meanings
• B. They have related meanings across different things
• C. They have unrelated meanings
• D. They refer to the same object

Answer: (B)

Analogous terms carry a related sense across different contexts rather than identical meanings. They point to similar roles or relations in separate domains, not to the exact same concept. For example, think of a branch in a tree and a branch of a company—they share the idea of a subdivision extending from a larger whole. That cross-context relation shows related meanings across different things, which is why this option is the best fit. The idea that they share identical meanings, refer to the same object, or have no connection at all misses how analogy ties meanings together across contexts.