disparate
Americanadjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disparate
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin disparātus “separated,” past participle of disparāre “to separate,” from dis- dis- 1 + parāre “to make ready” ( see pare)
Explanation
The trunk of some people's cars may contain items as disparate as vintage records, a tangled garden hose, and possibly a stray hiking boot. Disparate things are very different from each other. Near synonyms for disparate are unequal and dissimilar. The adjective is derived from the Latin disparātus, from disparāre, meaning "to separate or divide," combining the prefix dis-, "apart," with parāre "to prepare." The word's modern sense of "distinct in kind" likely evolved through its association with the Latin adjective dispar, meaning "unequal" or "different."
Vocabulary lists containing disparate
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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"A Quilt of a Country," Vocabulary from the argument
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Disparate as their ages may be, Margot and Sammy soon come to develop a friendship that expands beyond the role of mentor/mentee, with the pair bonding over their shared experiences.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2022
Disparate styles, too, “Intimate,” scored for two pianos, has been staged breezily on a turntable, while “Finzi” was played by a 15-piece orchestra with a more tempered pace.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 10, 2022
Disparate impact is a judicial theory developed in the U.S. that allows challenges to policies that are nondiscriminatory on their face but appear to have a disproportionately negative effect on certain groups.
From Fox News • Aug. 3, 2021
Disparate parts of my life and beliefs and personality connected, and I became more legible to myself.
From New York Times • Mar. 18, 2021
Disparate racial elements mingled in the long Southern oval and the Slavonic modelling of brow and cheek-bone.
From Tante by Sedgwick, Anne Douglas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
