discrepancy

American  

[dih-skrep-uhn-see] / dɪˈskrɛp ən si /

Also discrepance

noun

• discrepancies
  plural

1. 

   the state or quality of being discrepant or in disagreement, as by displaying an unexpected or unacceptable difference; inconsistency.

   The discrepancy between the evidence and his account of what happened led to his arrest.

   Synonyms:

   variance, contrariety, discordance, disagreement, incongruity

2. an instance of difference or inconsistency.

   There are certain discrepancies between the two versions of the story.

   Synonyms:

   variation

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discrepancy British  

/ dɪˈskrɛpənsɪ /

noun

1. a conflict or variation, as between facts, figures, or claims

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Usage

Discrepancy is sometimes wrongly used where disparity is meant. A discrepancy exists between things which ought to be the same; it can be small but is usually significant. A disparity is a large difference between measurable things such as age, rank, or wages

Synonym Usage

See difference.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• discrepancies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of discrepancy

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin discrepantia, from discrepant- (stem of discrepāns “sounding discordant”; see discrepant) + -ia -y ³ ( def. )

Explanation

A discrepancy is a lack of agreement or balance. If there is a discrepancy between the money you earned and the number on your paycheck, you should complain to your boss. There is a discrepancy when there is a difference between two things that should be alike. For example, there can be a wide discrepancy or a slight discrepancy between two objects, stories, or facts. The noun discrepancy is from Latin discrepare "to sound differently," from the prefix dis- "from" plus crepare "to rattle, creak."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

discrepancy discrepancies

That discrepancy aside, this family — staying within standard spending guidelines — spends 90% of their income on taxes and needs.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

"We realized that the discrepancy between modern computational data and textbooks was larger than we had anticipated."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

That could mean that one problematic ballot in a mailing of 10,000 prevents the other 9,999 from being sent until the discrepancy is resolved and the batch checked again.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

That discrepancy ought to be a warning for banks involved, especially since China purchases roughly 90% of Iran’s exported oil.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Over further minutes the discrepancy would widen until the two machines were tapping out a rhythmic pattern in the difference between their two beats.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Discussion of those and other discrepancies have been around for a long time.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

"Information provided regarding the trucking company, driver and vehicles involved contained discrepancies and is currently being investigated."

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

The results settle two long-standing discrepancies in diamond research and bring experimental measurements into close agreement with simulations based on quantum mechanics.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

But this online data also shows discrepancies, with a gap of 20,000 between the lowest and highest estimates of missing people.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Physically, there was very little indication that anything was happening at all—they were too clever for that—but even the tiny discrepancies that squeaked through their guard I met with a kind of willful blindness.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Related Words

• difference
• disparity
• distinction
• divergence
• error
• inconsistency
• miscalculation
• variation