difference

noun

(uncountable) The quality of being different.

(countable) A characteristic of something that makes it different from something else.

(countable) A disagreement or argument.

(countable, uncountable) Significant change in or effect on a situation or state.

(countable) The result of a subtraction; sometimes the absolute value of this result.

(heraldry) An addition to a coat of arms to distinguish two people's bearings which would otherwise be the same. See augmentation and cadency.

(logic) The quality or attribute which is added to those of the genus to constitute a species; a differentia.

(logic circuits) A Boolean operation which is true when the two input variables are different but is otherwise false; the XOR operation ( scriptstyle A◌̅B+◌̅AB).

(relational algebra) The set of elements that are in one set but not another ( scriptstyle A◌̅B).

(obsolete) Choice; preference.

verb

(obsolete, transitive) To distinguish or differentiate.

Roots

ferofer- · Latin · carry, bear

Words related to difference

disparatenessn differentian imparityn dissimilatev differentialadj differv contradistinguishv similaritiesn decern differentnessn contradistinctiveadj nonresemblancen differentiatorn betweenadv contradistinctivelyadv differentadj incongruencen mismatchn nonequivalentadj

Synonyms & related words for difference

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of difference — including divergence, unlikeness, discrepancy, dissimilarity, disparity, dissemblance. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to difference

Explore words related to difference — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include disparateness, differentia, imparity, dissimilate, differential, differ, contradistinguish, similarities. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for difference

Common synonyms for difference include divergence, unlikeness, discrepancy, dissimilarity, disparity, dissemblance, dissimilitude, deviation — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does difference come from?

The word difference breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root fer-, from Latin fero (“carry, bear”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.