like-minded

like-minded — adjective

1. having the same opinions, interests, or goals as someone else, which often creat

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

having the same opinions, interests, or goals as someone else, which often creates a sense of connection or shared purpose

Example

The conference brought together like-minded people who all wanted to protect local forests.

attributive use before nouns like 'people'

Aiko joined a like-minded group of photographers who explore the city at dawn.

collocation: like-minded group

Common collocations
  • like-minded people
  • like-minded group
  • like-minded friends
  • like-minded individuals
  • like-minded colleagues
Synonyms
  • kindred

    more literary; often found in the fixed phrase 'kindred spirit' to suggest a deeper emotional connection

  • compatible

    broader meaning; focuses on ease of working together, not necessarily on shared opinions

  • sympathetic

    used to describe someone who supports a particular view, but may not hold it themselves

Grammar Patterns

like-minded + noun

be + like-minded

Usage Note

Typically used before a noun (like-minded people, like-minded group) or after 'be' with a plural subject to describe a set of people ('They are like-minded'). The shared viewpoint or interest is often spelled out in a following relative clause or participial phrase.

Common Mistakes

This is a like-minded proposal.
People with like-minded views support this proposal.
'like-minded' describes people, not things or ideas.
He is like-minded with his sister.
He and his sister are like-minded.
'like-minded' describes a quality shared between people, so a plural or collective structure is more natural.

Word family

  • like-mindedness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Like-minded is the most direct and common word for people who share opinions, interests, or goals. Kindred is more formal and literary, and in modern English it appears almost exclusively in the fixed phrase 'kindred spirit' to describe a person with whom one feels a deep, instinctive connection. Compatible is broader — it can apply to personalities, systems, or devices, and it emphasises the ability to coexist or cooperate smoothly rather than shared viewpoints. Sympathetic focuses on being supportive or approving of a particular view; a person can be sympathetic to an idea without actively holding it themselves. For instance, you would call two colleagues who both care about climate change like-minded, but a politician who agrees with some parts of a bill but not all of it would be sympathetic, not necessarily like-minded.

like-minded ↗kindredcompatible ↗sympathetic ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • group of like-minded people
  • a like-minded approach

Prepositions

  • like-minded in (their views)
  • like-minded on (the issue)

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Like-minded is a compound formed from 'like' (meaning 'similar', from Old English gelīc) and 'minded' (meaning 'having a particular kind of mind', from 'mind' + the adjective suffix '-ed'). The word was first recorded in the early 1500s.