comparison

American  

[kuhm-par-uh-suhn] / kəmˈpær ə sən /

noun

• comparisons
  plural

1. the act of comparing.

2. the state of being compared.

3. a likening; illustration by similitude; comparative estimate or statement.

4. Rhetoric. the considering of two things with regard to some characteristic that is common to both, as the likening of a hero to a lion in courage.

5. capability of being compared or likened.

   Synonyms:

   similarity, resemblance, likeness

6. Grammar.

   1. the function of an adverb or adjective that is used to indicate degrees of superiority or inferiority in quality, quantity, or intensity.

   2. the patterns of formation involved therein.

   3. the degrees of a particular word, displayed in a fixed order, as mild, milder, mildest, less mild, least mild.

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comparison British  

/ kəmˈpærɪsən /

noun

1. the act or process of comparing

2. the state of being compared

3. comparable quality or qualities; likeness

   there was no comparison between them

4. a rhetorical device involving comparison, such as a simile

5. Also called: degrees of comparison. grammar the listing of the positive, comparative, and superlative forms of an adjective or adverb

6. to be sufficiently similar in class or range to be compared with (something else), esp favourably

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intercomparison
  noun
• precomparison
  noun
• recomparison
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• comparisons
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of comparison

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English comparesoun, from Old French comparaison, from Latin comparātiōn-, stem of comparātiō, from comparāt(us) “placed together” (past participle of comparāre “to place together, match”; see compare) + -iō -ion

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Explanation

When you make a comparison, you figure out how things are similar. Making comparisons is about taking a look at characteristics or qualities that show the similarities between living things, objects, or anything else. In the supermarket, people make comparisons based on price and ingredients. Lots of essays and articles make comparisons: between different politicians, bands, movies, athletes, and even whole era. Many teachers ask students to write comparisons in essays. If two things are totally different, you could say "There's no comparison!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

comparison comparisons

The trial was small and did not include a placebo group or another comparison group.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026

By comparison, these Chargers came into Sunday ranked last in points and 28th in yards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

In that comparison, dementia risk was 24% lower among those receiving NBPs.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026

The standard helps tasters judge the leaves without differences in brewing muddying up the comparison.

From Slate ● Nov. 8, 2026

Not in comparison to a fire or a burglary.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman

How about comparisons with Mateta's VAR red card against Spurs last week?

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

Iran has seized on the Suez crisis in recent days to draw comparisons with the current situation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Ossoff, whose rolled-up shirt sleeves and youthful vibe make him a natural media star, has already drawn comparisons to former president Barack Obama, who appeared on the campaign trail to support him.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

Across the placebo comparisons, medical cannabis produced little or no clinically meaningful improvement in sleep quality, satisfaction with sleep, total hours slept, or daytime functioning.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

Evolutionary biologists have recently been developing ever more sophisticated methods for drawing conclusions from comparisons of different plants and animals of known evolutionary histories.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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Related Words

• analogy
• connection
• contrast
• correlation
• example
• identification
• juxtaposition
• observation
• ratio
• relation
• resemblance
• similarity
• testing

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