difference
/ˈdɪf(ə)r(ə)ns
/noun
1A point or way in which people or things are dissimilar: the differences between men and women...
- Structural differences between the various drugs account for the differences in the potential side effects.
- The differences between the present study and prior work likely represent differences in patient selection.
- Therefore differences between the experiments could be attributed to differences in genetic background of the species that are not shared.
Synonyms
dissimilarity, contrast, distinction, distinctness, differentiation;
variance, variation, variability, divergence, deviation, polarity, gulf, breach, gap, split, disparity, imbalance, unevenness, incongruity, contradiction, contradistinction, nonconformity
rare unlikeness, contrariety, dissimilitude
1.1 [mass noun] The state or condition of being dissimilar: their difference from one another...
- There is in America a sense of distance from other nations, and of difference from them, which has been long remarked and debated.
- The question then becomes: how can we free difference from these normative connotations?
- A quick click on my archives, and I find that there's not much difference from last Christmas.
1.2A quantity by which amounts differ; the remainder left after subtraction of one value from another: the insurance company will pay the difference...
- If the antecedent is more true than the consequent, then the conditional is less than the maximal truth by the difference between their values.
- The difference between the expected value and the certainty equivalent is the risk premium for the gamble.
- It is claimed that there remains a substantial difference between that sum and the full amount of the loss.
Synonyms
balance, outstanding amount, remaining amount, remainder, rest, residue, excess, extra
technical residuum
1.3 Heraldry An alteration in a coat of arms to distinguish members or branches of a family.Secondly, it assumes coat armour to be hereditary in the male lines of a family, with differences to distinguish cadet branches.
2A disagreement, quarrel, or dispute: the couple are patching up their differences...
- Naturally, we will have our differences and our disputes, but we must be especially wary of the tendency to cast them in terms of a fictitious religious strife.
- Governments are often beset by internal divisions and dispute, but such differences have traditionally been over politics or policy.
- In a voluntary society like the church we rely heavily on the ties that bind us together as the body of Christ as a way of resolving our differences and disputes.
Synonyms
disagreement, difference of opinion, misunderstanding, dispute, disputation, argument, debate, quarrel, wrangle, altercation, contretemps, clash, controversy, dissension
informal tiff, set-to, run-in, spat, ruction
British informal row, barney, bit of argy-bargy
verb [with object] Heraldry
Alter (a coat of arms) to distinguish members or branches of a family.
Phrases
make a (or no) difference
with a difference
Origin
Middle English: via Old French from Latin differentia (see differentia).