different - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Middle English different

English different

From Middle English different, from Old French different, from Latin differēns, present active participle of differō (“to differ”). See also differ. Supplanted native Old English ungelic (whence modern English unalike).

different (comparative more different, superlative most different)

  1. Not the same; exhibiting a difference.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:different
    Antonyms: undifferent; see also Thesaurus:similar
    — Is your grandpa any better?
    — No different. Still ill.
    • 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.
    • 1915, Edward Knobel, Ptolemy's Catalogue of Stars – A Revision of the Almagest, page 14 (showing that "to" was used by an Englishman in 1915)
      One interesting feature was remarked by Dr. Peters, viz.: that the instrument used for the longitudes of the original catalogue was graduated differently to that used for the latitudes.
    • 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”, in The Guardian Weekly‎[1], 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.
  2. Various, assorted, diverse.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:assorted
    Antonyms: undifferent, homogeneous
    • 2006, Delbert S. Elliott et al., Good Kids from Bad Neighborhoods: Successful Development in Social Context‎[2], Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, 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.
  3. Distinct, separate; used for emphasis after numbers and other determiners of quantity.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:separate
    Antonyms: undifferent; see also Thesaurus:equal
    • 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist‎[3], volume 101, number 3, archived from the original on 24 April 2013, 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.
  4. Unlike most others; unusual.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:strange
    Antonyms: undifferent; see also Thesaurus:normal
    What do you think of my new hairdo? - Well, it's different.

unlike most others

Translations to be checked

different (plural differents)

  1. (mathematics) The different ideal.

different (comparative more different, superlative most different)

  1. Differently.
    • 1843 October 28, The Port Phillip Gazette, Victoria, page 4, column 1:
      [I]f they view it in the same light as I do, they will act different to their previous intentions.
    • 1861 May 13, The Hobart Town Advertiser, page 1, column 4:
      Mr Graves objected to any postponement, and as to the verdict being against the weight of evidence, he was quite sure his Honor would not act different from the Judges, who were slow to interfere with the verdict of a jury.
    • 1954 December 16, The Argus, Melbourne, page 29, column 6:
      Cars "act different" on a long trip.
    • 2016 June 15, ABC Premium News, Sydney:
      "Although we all speak different and use different grammar, we have to be more tolerant of each other," he told ABC Brisbane's Katrina Davidson.

Borrowed from Latin differēns.

different (strong nominative masculine singular differenter, comparative differenter, superlative am differentesten)

  1. different

Positive forms of different

Comparative forms of different

Superlative forms of different

different

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of differō

From Old French different, from Latin differēns, present active participle of differō; equivalent to differren (“to postpone”) +‎ -ent.

different (plural and weak singular differente)

  1. different

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