differ
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
1Other words from differ
- un·dif·fer·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use differ in a sentence
Where they differ is providing users with both the pathway and tools to complete an intended action.
The sounds that change across time are unpredictable, and differ from language to language, and some may not happen to change at all.
The English Word That Hasn’t Changed in Sound or Meaning in 8,000 Years - Facts So Romantic | Sevindj Nurkiyazova | November 9, 2020 | NautilusThis differs from typical image data sets, which would label the same picture with only one noun, like “cat.”
This could lead to the next big breakthrough in common sense AI | Karen Hao | November 6, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewThose recipes differed in how much chitin and regolith were used.
Analyze This: Insect shells could help builders on Mars | Carolyn Wilke | November 4, 2020 | Science News For StudentsStill, a few studies have found that the brains of male and female athletes can differ in their response to injury.
Many student athletes face risk of concussions that heal slowly | Rebecca E. Hirsch | November 2, 2020 | Science News For Students
The ASPCA, the NYPD, and the Department of Buildings all differed in comment on the matter.
The Weird Underground World of Urban Animal Husbandry | Dale Eisinger | May 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTribal cultures differed in their approaches to reintegrating warriors.
Possessed by PTSD, A Veteran Uses Exorcisms to Cast Out His Demons | Brian Van Reet | February 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAlmost immediately, Sawers felt compelled to explain that real spycraft differed markedly from what we see at the movie theater.
Jefferson and Adams were far from the only Americans who differed about Islam and the status of believing Muslims in America.
Thomas Jefferson’s Quran: How Islam Shaped the Founders | R.B. Bernstein | September 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe tawdry details of the Clinton scandals differed, but the basic narrative was one to which Americans were becoming inured.
In those days fashions and manners differed greatly from those of to-day.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowThe men composing the regiment were fighters, but in their tactics differed little from the guerrillas.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnIn this she differed from others of her sect, who strove to convey the idea of humility both outwardly and inwardly.
Skipper Worse | Alexander Lange KiellandThe larger boats of the natives struck me as very remarkable, and differed entirely from those I saw at Madras.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferBy this we see how much the manners of remote antiquity differed from ours.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
British Dictionary definitions for differ
/ (ˈdɪfə) /
(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
1Collins 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
see beg to differ. Also see under difference; different.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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