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

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

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

Even with Wednesday's jump, growth in the company's share price has trailed other chip companies in recent months and pales in comparison to the stratospheric leaps in 2023 that followed the launch of ChatGPT.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

According to the team, this is the largest comparison of its kind across the animal tree of life.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

Holding a student-loan balance increases your debt-to-income ratio, which is a comparison of how much you owe each month to how much you earn.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

"There is this concept of relation. There could also be a sense of comparison as well."

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

The pain was far worse than anything he’d felt before—it made the broken thumb feel like a mosquito bite in comparison.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

Using those comparisons, researchers refined the location of the crater's center to 19.4759°N, 266.7138°E, at an elevation of 511 meters.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

The autopsy report said investigators used dental image comparisons to identify the body, which was severely decomposed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Fifteen assists and five goals during his time in the Bundesliga meant that comparisons with countryman Yan Diomande at RB Leipzig were inevitable.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

But comparisons may be complicated by the boycotts.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Long before he even suspected who Henry Fonda was, he found himself the subject of unflattering comparisons everywhere he went.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

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