comparison

American  

[kuhm-par-uh-suhn] / kəmˈpær ə sən /

noun

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

• intercomparison
  noun
• precomparison
  noun
• recomparison
  noun

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

Comparison portals will need to think about embedding their services into ChatGPT or offer bigger incentives to potential clients to compete, Coatsworth says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

Comparison of the new single-assay approach with current standard clinical methods revealed it could reliably detect 305 large-scale pathogenic mutations, including 91 not previously detectable using standard clinical microarrays.

From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2024

Comparison issues notwithstanding, “this year will certainly be in the top three or four snowpack years since the 1950s,” DeGuzman said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2023

Comparison website Uswitch said 60,000 new meters were installed in Britain in the six months to March, after over two years in which the number fell.

From BBC • Oct. 24, 2022

Comparison of children’s and adults’ vocal ranges and preferred tessituras in singing familiar songs.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

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