comparison
Americannoun
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comparisons
plural
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the act of comparing.
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the state of being compared.
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a likening; illustration by similitude; comparative estimate or statement.
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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.
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capability of being compared or likened.
- Synonyms:
- similarity, resemblance, likeness
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Grammar.
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the function of an adverb or adjective that is used to indicate degrees of superiority or inferiority in quality, quantity, or intensity.
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the patterns of formation involved therein.
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the degrees of a particular word, displayed in a fixed order, as mild, milder, mildest, less mild, least mild.
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noun
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the act or process of comparing
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the state of being compared
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comparable quality or qualities; likeness
there was no comparison between them
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a rhetorical device involving comparison, such as a simile
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Also called: degrees of comparison. grammar the listing of the positive, comparative, and superlative forms of an adjective or adverb
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to be sufficiently similar in class or range to be compared with (something else), esp favourably
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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!"
Vocabulary lists containing comparison
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 2
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 2
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The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
It forecasts M1 growth holding at 4.0% and M2 growth slowing to 7.8%, partly because of a higher year-earlier comparison.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The comparison with Tottenham's existing attackers helps explain the interest.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
To trace this history, the team carried out a broad comparison of sperm structures across arthropods using decades of previously published research.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
The IRS stipulates that pay must be “reasonable” and states that organizations should rely on a comparison of pay across organizations doing similar work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
But that burst tends to dissipate over the course of an entire can, and that is another reason Coke suffered by comparison.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Frick rejects comparisons to the A Million Little Pieces scandal that transfixed the publishing industry of her youth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Wales' own golden girl now has, but the rider herself would not comprehend the comparisons.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
The IRS asks nonprofits whether their executive compensation was reviewed by independent people and if they used comparisons to other similar organizations — a standard safeguard against self-dealing.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
The unraveling of the Situational Awareness hedge fund has inspired comparisons with Long-Term Capital Management, a legendary hedge fund that failed in spectacular fashion in 1998.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
The student of human history can draw on many more natural experiments than just comparisons among the five inhabited continents.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
