We could also compare an object that is "hot", to an object that is "warm" (similar). In this case, we can now detect that the object that is "hot" has a higher temperature than the object that is "warm". This slight difference tells us a little, but the two objects are still very much alike.

Or, we could compare an object that is "hot", to an object that is "cool" (dis-similar). In this case, we can now more readily detect that the object that is "hot" has a higher temperature than the object that is "cool". The two objects are much more readily distinguished from each other by this greater difference.

In the final instance, we can compare an object that is "hot", to an object that is "cold" (opposite). Since we are dealing in abstractions, we still do not know how hot "hot" is, or how cold "cold" is, but we have terms which are mutually exclusive. That is to say, we know that if we have something that is hot, it cannot be cold, and if we have something that is cold, it cannot be hot.