different
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin differēns, present active participle of differō (“I differ”); see differ.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
different (comparative more different, superlative most different)
- Not the same; exhibiting a difference.
- 1886, Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge:
- At Elizabeth-Jane mentioning how greatly Lucetta had been jeopardized, he exhibited an agitation different in kind no less than in intensity from any she had seen in him before.
- 1971, William S. Burroughs, The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead, page 6
- Enter the American tourist. He thinks of himself as a good guy but when he looks in the mirror to shave this good guy he has to admit that "well, other people are different from me and I don't really like them." This makes him feel guilty toward other people.
- 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
- Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
- 1886, Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge:
- Various, assorted, diverse.
- 2006, Delbert S. Elliott et al., Good Kids from Bad Neighborhoods: Successful Development in Social Context,[1] Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521863575, page 19:
- In any case, poor black respondents living in high-poverty neighborhoods are most likely to view their neighborhood as a single block or block group and to use this definition consistently when asked about different neighborhood characteristics and activities.
- 2006, Delbert S. Elliott et al., Good Kids from Bad Neighborhoods: Successful Development in Social Context,[1] Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521863575, page 19:
- Distinct, separate; used for emphasis after numbers and other determiners of quantity.
- 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200:
- Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.
- Several different scientists all reached this conclusion at about the same time.
- 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200:
- Unlike most others; unusual.
Usage notes[edit]
- (not the same): Depending on dialect, time period, and register, the adjective different (“not the same”) may be construed with one of the prepositions from, to, and than, or with the subordinating conjunction than.
- Pleasure is different from/than/to happiness.
- It's different than (or from what) I expected.
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
- different as chalk and cheese
- different drummer
- different ideal
- different light
- different strokes
- horse of a different color
- march to the beat of a different drum
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
not the same
|
|
unlike most others
|
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
|
Noun[edit]
different (plural differents)
- (mathematics) The different ideal.
External links[edit]
- different in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- different in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Statistics[edit]
-
Most common English words before 1923: manner · following · fell · #383: different · care · war · short
Latin[edit]
Verb[edit]
different
- third-person plural future active indicative of differō
