| English Dictionary |
DIFFERENT
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Dictionary entry overview: What does different mean?
• DIFFERENT (adjective)
The adjective DIFFERENT has 4 senses:
1. unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
2. distinctly separate from the first
3. differing from all others; not ordinary
4. distinct or separate
Familiarity information: DIFFERENT used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
Context example:
this meeting was different from the earlier one
Similar:
divergent (diverging from another or from a standard)
variant (differing from a norm or standard)
several (distinct and individual)
opposite (altogether different in nature or quality or significance)
divers; diverse (many and different)
diverse; various (distinctly dissimilar or unlike)
distinct; distinguishable ((often followed by 'from') not alike; different in nature or quality)
disparate (fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind)
diametric; diametrical; opposite; polar (characterized by opposite extremes; completely opposed)
contrasting; contrastive (strikingly different; tending to contrast)
contrary (very opposed in nature or character or purpose)
assorted; various (of many different kinds purposefully arranged but lacking any uniformity)
antithetic; antithetical (sharply contrasted in character or purpose)
Also:
unlike (marked by dissimilarity)
incompatible (not compatible)
dissimilar (not similar)
varied (characterized by variety)
Attribute:
difference (the quality of being unlike or dissimilar)
Antonym:
same (closely similar or comparable in kind or quality or quantity or degree)
Derivation:
differ (be different)
difference (the quality of being unlike or dissimilar)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Distinctly separate from the first
Context example:
that's another (or different) issue altogether
Similar:
other (not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied)
Derivation:
differ (be different)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Differing from all others; not ordinary
Context example:
this new music is certainly different but I don't really like it
Similar:
unusual (not usual or common or ordinary)
Derivation:
differ (be different)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Distinct or separate
Context example:
each interviewed different members of the community
Similar:
other (not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied)
Derivation:
differ (be different)
Context examples
What a different Sunday morning from the old Sunday morning at Yarmouth!
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Describes a state, condition, or behavior that is unusual or different from what is considered normal.
(Abnormal, NCI Dictionary)
However, divergent selection — variation in natural selection across populations — may also be the reason that different populations have differing noses.
(Nose Form Was Shaped by Climate, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The summer and winter magnesium-to-calcium ratios are thus very different from each other due to variations in the quantity of water entering the cave during these seasons.
(Cave stalagmites reveal India’s rainfall secrets, SciDev.Net)
The tombs are the latest discovery in Luxor, which is known for its temples and tombs from different dynasties of ancient Egyptian history.
(Discovery of Two Tombs Dating Back 3,500 Years Announced in Egypt, VOA)
The process of adopting the traits or social patterns of a different population group.
(Acculturation, NCI Thesaurus)
Activity of this complex is regulated by multiple different cell surface receptor signaling systems, activating WASP, and Arp2/3 in turn to cause changes in cell shape and cell motility.
(Actin Branching Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
If you don't mind my expressin' my feelin's, Mr. Scott, I'll make free to say you're seventeen kinds of a damn fool an' all of 'em different, an' then some.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
The nuclear receptor CAR is activated by many different exogenous compounds, including acetaminophen, inducing expression of three cytochrome P450 enzymes that transform acetaminophen into NAPQI, a reactive and toxic metabolite.
(Acetaminophen Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
In normal tissues, this mRNA is expressed only in testis, whereas it is detected in a range of different tumor types such as bladder, breast, lung, liver, and colon.
(Acrosin Binding Protein, NCI Thesaurus/LocusLink)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"Dog has to have its stomach full" (Azerbaijani proverb)
"The tail of the dog never straightens up even if you hang to it a brick." (Arabic proverb)
"Those who had some shame are dead." (Egyptian proverb)