disparity
Americannoun
plural
disparitiesnoun
-
inequality or difference, as in age, rank, wages, etc
-
dissimilarity
Related Words
See difference.
Other Word Forms
- nondisparity noun
Etymology
Origin of disparity
First recorded in 1545–55; from Middle French desparite, from Late Latin disparitās; equivalent to dis- 1 + parity 1
Explanation
If there is a disparity between how great you think you are at tennis and how you actually play, you are probably surprised by how often you lose. Disparity is the condition of being unequal, and a disparity is a noticeable difference. Disparity usually refers to a difference that is unfair: economic disparities exist among ethnic groups, there is a disparity between what men and women earn in the same job. This noun derives from Latin dispar "unequal." The opposite of disparity is parity, the condition of being equal or the same.
Vocabulary lists containing disparity
Grade 9, List 5
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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This Week in Words: September 29 - October 5, 2018
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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.
Everyone outside Los Angeles blames them — nothing personal, mind you, but as a symbol of the gaping financial disparity in baseball and a trigger for the almost certain lockout to follow the World Series.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
In a note to investors published Wednesday, his reservations were focused chiefly on the clear disparity between the statements made by the Americans and the Iranians in the immediate aftermath of the announcement.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026
You might expect the owner of the Colorado Rockies to say that revenue disparity among teams is so great that competitive balance has been destroyed, and he did.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
Most team owners don’t think so, arguing that the disparity in revenues between big-market franchises and their smaller counterparts has become unsustainable, resulting in a fractured competitive landscape.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
It is, then, this disparity between form and content that must have been Johns’ goal.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
