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difference

Difference is a word for things that are not the same. Identical twins have few if any differences in appearance.

If you dye your hair green, everyone is going to notice a huge difference. People often have differences of opinion. No two people are alike, so there are all kinds of differences between individuals. In math, a difference is the remainder left after subtracting one number from another. Chimps and gorillas are both apes, but there are a lot of differences between them. If something doesn't really change an outcome, you can say, "It makes no difference."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: difference

1
 n
the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
2
 n
the number that remains after subtraction; the number that when added to the subtrahend gives the minuend
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: difference
1

n the quality of being unlike or dissimilar

“there are many differences between jazz and rock”
Antonyms:
sameness
the quality of being alike
Types:
show 16 types...
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distinctness, otherness, separateness
the quality of being not alike; being distinct or different from that otherwise experienced or known
differential
a quality that differentiates between similar things
differentia
distinguishing characteristics (especially in different species of a genus)
distinction
a distinguishing difference
disagreement, discrepancy, divergence, variance
a difference between conflicting facts or claims or opinions
dissimilarity, unsimilarity
the quality of being dissimilar
change, variety
a difference that is usually pleasant
inequality
lack of equality
allowance, leeway, margin, tolerance
a permissible difference; allowing some freedom to move within limits
disparateness, distinctiveness
utter dissimilarity
heterology
(biology) the lack of correspondence of apparently similar body parts
dissimilitude, unlikeness
dissimilarity evidenced by an absence of likeness
nonuniformity
the quality of being diverse and interesting
nonequivalence
not interchangeable
disparity
inequality or difference in some respect
unevenness
the quality of being unbalanced
Type of:
quality
an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone

n a significant change

“the difference in her is amazing”
“his support made a real difference”
Type of:
change
a relational difference between states; especially between states before and after some event

n a variation that deviates from the standard or norm

Synonyms:
departure, deviation, divergence
Types:
discrepancy, variance, variant
an event that departs from expectations
driftage
the deviation (by a vessel or aircraft) from its intended course due to drifting
flection, flexion, inflection
deviation from a straight or normal course
Type of:
fluctuation, variation
an instance of change; the rate or magnitude of change

n a disagreement or argument about something important

“there were irreconcilable differences”
Synonyms:
conflict, difference of opinion, dispute
Types:
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collision
a conflict of opposed ideas or attitudes or goals
arguing, argument, contention, contestation, controversy, disceptation, disputation, tilt
a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement
gap
a difference (especially an unfortunate difference) between two opinions or two views or two situations
dustup, quarrel, row, run-in, words, wrangle
an angry dispute
argle-bargle, argy-bargy
a verbal dispute; a wrangling argument
firestorm
an outburst of controversy
sparring
an argument in which the participants are trying to gain some advantage
polemic
a controversy (especially over a belief or dogma)
generation gap
a difference between the views of young people and their parents
fight
an intense verbal dispute
affray, altercation, fracas
noisy quarrel
bicker, bickering, fuss, pettifoggery, spat, squabble, tiff
a quarrel about petty points
bust-up
a serious quarrel (especially one that ends a friendship)
Type of:
disagreement
the speech act of disagreeing or arguing or disputing
2

n the number that remains after subtraction; the number that when added to the subtrahend gives the minuend

Synonyms:
remainder
Types:
show 5 types...
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balance
the difference between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account
balance of trade, trade balance, trade gap, visible balance
the difference in value over a period of time of a country's imports and exports of merchandise
carry-forward, carry-over
the accumulated and undivided profits of a corporation after provision has been made for dividends and reserves
compensating balance, offsetting balance
a minimum credit balance that a bank may require a borrower to keep on deposit as a condition for granting a loan; a common requirement for establishing a line of credit at a bank
invisible balance
the difference in value over a period of time of a country's imports and exports of services and payments of property incomes
Type of:
number
a concept of quantity involving zero and units
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