Two different Questions, japhwil. Broadly, "similar to" and "like" are interchangeable (and MS should leave your style choices to you). Quite separately, I think you'll have a hard time explaining the difference you suggest between " A is similar to B" indicating objects are quite distinct, and "A is like B" suggesting they are practically the ...
Similar to spaghetti, linguini noodles are long and thin and adaptable to a variety of dishes. Now, try interchanging 'similarly' and 'similar to' in the examples.
Similar and identical have different meaning to be precise. But if you have noticed people using it, that could be because many times people start using the first word that comes to their mind and they don't evaluate that word to be precisely what they are trying to say.
Can I use "similar to" at the beginning of a sentence? For example, Similar to the proof showing x=1, we have y=1. Or I should say "it is similar to the proof showing x=1, we have y=1".
In the following sentence, is using "more similar" correct? I learned Java in school; it's more similar to C++ than C. Is there any better way to say it?
The other options "in a similar vein to" and "along the same vein" sound a little odd to my ear. I guess you'd be better off using "in a similar way to" and "along the same lines" instead.
Is there a synonym for "just as how" or "similar to how"? For instance, in the sentence, Just as how crabs can live in water, they can also live on land. or Similar to how crabs can live in ...
A book is similar to a kindle (they hold pages, pg. numbers, chapters, introductions, glossary, credits, acknowledgements, information..etc). Yet there are some characteristics which set them apart. For instance a book is made of different materials, it does not emit light, it is not electronic, and it does not contain more "books".
