difference

/ˈdɪfrɪns/

/ˈdɪfərəns/

Other forms: differences

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."

Definitions of difference

1. noun

   the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
   “there are many differences between jazz and rock”

   antonyms:

   sameness

   the quality of being alike

   types:

   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
2. noun

   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
3. noun

   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
4. noun

   a disagreement or argument about something important
   “there were irreconcilable differences”

   synonyms: conflict, difference of opinion, dispute

   types:

   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
5. noun

   the number that remains after subtraction; the number that when added to the subtrahend gives the minuend
   synonyms: remainder

   types:

   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