differentiation

American  

[dif-uh-ren-shee-ey-shuhn] / ˌdɪf əˌrɛn ʃiˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

differentiations plural

1. the act or process of differentiating, or the state of being differentiated.

2. Mathematics. the operation of finding the differential or derivative of a function.

3. Biology. the process by which cells or tissues change from relatively generalized to specialized kinds, during development.

---

differentiation British  

/ ˌdɪfəˌrɛnʃɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act, process, or result of differentiating

2. maths an operation used in calculus in which the derivative of a function or variable is determined; the inverse of integration See integration

3. any process in which a mixture of materials separates out partially or completely into its constituent parts, as in the cooling and solidification of a magma into two or more different rock types or in the gradual separation of an originally homogeneous earth into crust, mantle, and core

---

differentiation Scientific  

/ dĭf′ə-rĕn′shē-ā′shən /

1. In calculus, the process of computing the derivative of a function.

2. Compare integration

3. The process by which cells or parts of an organism change during development to serve a specific function. The cells of an animal in its early embryonic phase, for example, are identical at first but develop by differentiation into specific tissues, such as bone, heart muscle, and skin. The factors determining the differentiation of any particular cell are not well understood, but in deuterostomes (vertebrates and other complex animals) they include the location of the cell relative to other cells.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• differentiations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of differentiation

First recorded in 1800–10; differentiat(e) + -ion

Explanation

Differentiation is how someone or something is set apart from others. If you make a differentiation between one brand of toothpaste and another, you point out how they're distinct. You can see the word different in differentiation. The -tion ending tips you off that differentiation is the noun form of different: differentiation refers to the differences themselves. Suppose two very similar movies come out at the same time. The studios will work to achieve differentiation in the films' trailers, with one highlighting the chemistry between the romantic leads and the other showing moments of slap-stick comedy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

differentiation differentiations

A differentiation between FDEs and traditional consultants is that FDEs measure success through shared long-term business goals instead of billable hours, Amazon noted.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

The reaction of the market to these announcements, however, showed little differentiation.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026

One challenge for the companies is differentiation, with multi-purpose vehicles emerging as a new battleground, with several new players targeting the 300,000 to 500,000 yuan range.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

It combined the retinoic acid structure with a methyl ester side chain and showed threefold higher neuronal differentiation activity than the control, along with significantly stronger activity than natural vitamin K compounds.

From Science Daily ● May 27, 2026

Calculus is the combination of these two tools, differentiation and integration, in one package.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Unless, we should say, those differentiations are superpowers, as they’re presented in “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh.”

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2024

"But for platforms that mix own offerings and third-party offerings, they should consider - from a trade mark perspective - whether they want to create a different look and feel, or other clear differentiations."

From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2022

His advice was simple: Look for as many specifics as possible, including time frames for increasing activity, benchmarks against which increases can be measured, and clear differentiations between charity and business.

From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2022

But he was swamped with questions about how an officer might make such differentiations.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 24, 2021

But "Darwinism produces its changes and differentiations out of nothing."

From Landmarks of Scientific Socialism "Anti-Duehring" by Engels, Friedrich