Could not agree more! The dictionary even point it out, duplicate item are NOT “similar”.
du·pli·cate
adjective | ˈd(j)upləkət | [attributive]
1 exactly like something else, especially through having been copied: a duplicate license is issued to replace a valid license which has been lost.
2 technical having two corresponding or identical parts: a duplicate application form.
noun | ˈd(j)upləkət |
1 one of two or more identical things: books may be disposed of if they are duplicates.
• a copy of an original: locksmiths can make duplicates of most keys.
2 short for duplicate bridge.
3 archaic a pawnbroker’s ticket.
verb | ˈd(j)upləˌkeɪt | [with object]
make or be an exact copy of: they have not been able to duplicate his successes | a unique scent, impossible to duplicate or forget.
• make or supply copies of (a document): information sheets had to be typed and duplicated | (as adjective duplicating) : a duplicating machine.
• multiply by two; double: the normal amount of DNA has been duplicated thousands of times.
• do (something) again unnecessarily
sim·i·lar | ˈsɪm(ə)lər |
adjective
resembling without being identical: a soft cheese similar to Brie | northern India and similar areas.
• Geometry (of geometric figures) having the same shape, with the same angles and proportions, though not necessarily of the same size.
noun
1 mainly archaic a person or thing similar to another: he was one of those whose similar you never meet.
2 (usually similars) a substance that produces effects resembling the symptoms of particular diseases (the basis of homeopathic treatment): the principle of treatment by similars.
