differ

[ dif-er ]

See synonyms for: differ differed differing differs on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to be unlike, dissimilar, or distinct in nature or qualities (often followed by from): The two writers differ greatly in their perceptions of the world. Each writer's style differs from that of another.
to disagree in opinion, belief, etc.; be at variance; disagree (often followed by with or from): His business partner always differs with him.

Obsolete. to dispute; quarrel.

Origin of differ

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English differren “to distinguish,” from Middle French differer “to put off, distinguish,” Latin differre “to bear apart, scatter, be different,” from dif- dif- + ferre “to bear, bring, carry”

Other words from differ

un·dif·fer·ing, adjective

Words Nearby differ

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use differ in a sentence

Keep in mind, though, that rating parameters may differ from brand to brand.
How to stay warm while sleeping in the frigid outdoors | Alisha McDarris | February 12, 2021 | Popular-Science
Aside from whether Wanda herself is trustworthy, you know you can’t leave room for misunderstanding or differing interpretation with her.
I can’t trust my new co-worker, and I have a list of reasons. How do I tell management? | Karla Miller | February 11, 2021 | Washington Post
Still, technologies differ in what they can do and what their possible impacts will be.
New technology can get inside your head. Are you ready? | Laura Sanders | February 11, 2021 | Science News For Students
Those guidelines are thoughtful, she says, but the technologies differ in what they’re capable of, and in their possible ethical repurcussions.
Can privacy coexist with technology that reads and changes brain activity? | Laura Sanders | February 11, 2021 | Science News
I’m open to having a conversation as long as it’s respectful and the values where we differ aren’t extreme.
Meet D.C.’s Most Eligible LGBTQ Singles | Staff reports | February 11, 2021 | Washington Blade

The details differ but the intent is the same as in a high-profile case of police brutality.
‘Rectal Feeding’ Has Nothing to Do with Nutrition, Everything to Do with Torture | Russell Saunders | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Unlike Maryland, national costs for institutionalization as opposed to HCBS do not differ by an order of magnitude.
Medicaid Will Give You Money for At-Home Care, but You Might Wait Years | Elizabeth Picciuto | December 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
How does the American experience differ when the lines get blurry?
What It's Like To Be Ambiguously Ethnic | The Daily Beast Video | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
DOJ and CDC numbers differ, and conviction rates are harder to evaluate.
The Myth of the Central Park Five | Edward Conlon | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Does the process of writing a novel differ wildly from writing a screenplay?
David Cronenberg: Why Frustrated Novelists Hate the Screenplay | Craig Hubert | October 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
You may, you probably will, differ very widely upon much that I have here put before you.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Microscopically, they are yellow or reddish-brown crystals, which differ greatly in size and shape.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
Bringing the second group into relation with the third group, we find they differ only by four.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
But the peace finance and the war finance will differ in one most important respect.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock
Activities such as these differ with a whole sky from the wage-work of the modern industrial worker.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock

British Dictionary definitions for differ

differ

/ (ˈdɪfə) /

verb(intr)

(often foll by from) to be dissimilar in quality, nature, or degree (to); vary (from)
(often foll by from or with) to be at variance (with); disagree (with)

dialect to quarrel or dispute
agree to differ to end an argument amicably while maintaining differences of opinion

Origin of differ

C14: from Latin differre, literally: to bear off in different directions, hence scatter, put off, be different, from dis- apart + ferre to bear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with differ

differ

see beg to differ. Also see under difference; different.

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