differently

American  

[dif-er-uhnt-lee, dif-ruhnt‐] / ˈdɪf ər ənt li, ˈdɪf rənt‐ /

adverb

1. in a manner unlike another in character or quality; dissimilarly.

   This home alarm system works differently from the one in your office.

2. in a way unlike a previous way.

   I’m looking at life differently these days.

3. in diverse ways; variously.

   Several of the sauces look similar, but they are differently flavored.

4. in an atypical way; unusually.

   Dressing differently is just part of her bohemian style.

---

Etymology

Origin of differently

First recorded in 1350–1400; different ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

Example Sentences

Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities, said that bonds were trading a bit more cautiously than stocks because investors tend to focus on fundamentals differently when assessing the two asset classes.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026

But, he says, that doesn’t mean investors should abandon the AI trade entirely—they just need to think of it differently.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

Nazih Yahya, a septuagenarian resident with the wearied tone of someone long accustomed to conflict, expected the Israeli military to treat residents in non-Shiite villages differently from areas it counts as bastions of Hezbollah support.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

The challenge is not to look away, but to look differently.

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026

Where Aristotle had assumed that each element behaved differently, the new physics assumed that all heavy objects could be thought of as the same.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• individually
• negatively
• separately
• variously