alike
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
in the same way or to the same degree for everyone or everything mentioned.
in a similar manner or to an equal degree. Often used after mentioning two distinct groups to show that a statement applies to both.
Simple“The new law will affect rich and poor alike.”
In context“The sudden change in policy was met with confusion by seasoned diplomats and junior staff alike, as no prior warning had been issued.”
UsageTypically follows the nouns it modifies (e.g., 'teachers and students alike').
Antonymsdifferentlyunequally
“Friends and foes alike wonder if the stars are aligning for the New York congresswoman to run for US president in 2028.”
“When she asked her grandmother how she made sense of it, the answer was practical - more hands to do the work, physical labour and emotional labour alike.”
The adjective comes from a conflation of several different terms: * Middle English alich, alych, alyke, a Late Middle English development from earlier Middle English anlich, anlyke, from Old English onlīċ, anlīċ. Compare German ähnlich. * The borrowed Old Norse cognate of the same word, álíkr, ultimately yielding similar Late Middle English forms. Middle English ylich, ylych, ilich, ylik, ylike, ȝelic, from Old English ġelīċ (“like; alike; similar; equal”), from Proto-West Germanic galīk, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“alike, similar”). Cognate with Scots elyke, alyke (“like, alike”), Saterland Frisian gliek (“like, alike”), West Frisian lyk, gelyk (“like, alike”), Dutch gelijk (“like, alike”), German Low German liek, gliek (“like, alike”), German gleich (“equal, like”), Danish lig (“alike”), Swedish lik (“like, similar”), Norwegian lik (“like, alike”), Icelandic líkur (“alike, like, similar”). Equivalent to a- (Etymology 3) + like. Compare also West Frisian allyk (“all the same, alike”). Similarly, the adverb also comes from a conflation of several different terms: * Middle English aliche, alyche, alyke, a Late Middle English development from earlier Middle English anliche, anlyke, from Old English onlīċe, anlīċe. * Additionally Middle English oliche, olike, ultimately from the Old Norse cognate of the same word, álíka. * Middle English yliche, ylyche, iliche, ylike, ȝelice, from Old English ġelīċe (“alike, similarly”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.