differential

American  

[dif-uh-ren-shuhl] / ˌdɪf əˈrɛn ʃəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to difference or diversity.

2. constituting a difference; distinguishing; distinctive.

   a differential feature.

3. exhibiting or depending upon a difference or distinction.

4. Physics, Machinery. pertaining to or involving the difference of two or more motions, forces, etc.

5. Mathematics. pertaining to or involving a derivative or derivatives.

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noun

• differentials
  plural

1. a difference or the amount of difference, as in rate, cost, quantity, degree, or quality, between things that are comparable.

2. Also called differential gear.  Machinery. an epicyclic train of gears designed to permit two or more shafts to rotate at different speeds, as a set of gears in an automobile permitting the rear wheels to be driven at different speeds when the car is turning.

3. Mathematics.

   1. a function of two variables that is obtained from a given function, y = f (x ), and that expresses the approximate increment in the given function as the derivative of the function times the increment in the independent variable, written as dy = f′ (x ) dx.

   2. any generalization of this function to higher dimensions.

4. Commerce.

   1. the difference involved in a differential rate.

   2. differential rate.

5. Physics. the quantitative difference between two or more forces, motions, etc..

   a pressure differential.

differential British  

/ ˌdɪfəˈrɛnʃəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or using a difference

2. constituting a difference; distinguishing

3. maths of, containing, or involving one or more derivatives or differentials

4. physics engineering relating to, operating on, or based on the difference between two effects, motions, forces, etc

   differential amplifier

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noun

1. a factor that differentiates between two comparable things

2. maths

   1. an increment in a given function, expressed as the product of the derivative of that function and the corresponding increment in the independent variable

   2. an increment in a given function of two or more variables, f( x 1 , x 2 , … xn ), expressed as the sum of the products of each partial derivative and the increment in the corresponding variable

3. an epicyclic gear train that permits two shafts to rotate at different speeds while being driven by a third shaft See also differential gear

4. the difference between rates of pay for different types of labour, esp when forming a pay structure within an industry

5. (in commerce) a difference in rates, esp between comparable labour services or transportation routes

differential Scientific  

/ dĭf′ə-rĕn′shəl /

1. An infinitesimal increment in a variable.

2. The product of the derivative of a function of one variable and the increment of the independent variable.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• differentially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• differentials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of differential

1640–50; < Medieval Latin differentiālis, equivalent to differenti ( a ) difference + ālis -al ¹

Explanation

Things that show a difference or act in different ways can be described as differential. You and your sister may get differential benefits from eating a vegetarian diet. You're most likely to come across the adjective differential in scholarly or scientific writing — it's really just a more formal way to say "different" or "differing." Sociological studies or articles often describe differential circumstances or outcomes, like the differential effects on various children of being raised with one parent. The Latin differentia is at the root of differential — it means "diversity or difference," and it comes from differre, "to set apart."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

differential differentials

The most obvious differential between his new quartet is pace - something brought into further focus by England's decision to prioritise bowlers who reach high speeds during last winter's Ashes defeat.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Strong exports and a narrowing interest rate differential against U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

Mercury, a large Los Angeles-based insurer, charged the highest differential, though it offered lower rates to widowed motorists with 34 or more years of driving experience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

One said he would keep working on partial differential equations, one said he wanted to experiment with artificial intelligence and one said she had absolutely no idea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Two years later he invented the differential calculus.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

The dollar’s recent rise against the yen is driven by interest-rate differentials between Japan and the U.S., he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

And then there’s the wild card: interest-rate differentials.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

The Goldman Sachs forex team underlines Baur’s point: “rate differentials have a larger and more consistent correlation with the dollar than oil prices.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026

“The magnitude of the high/low price differentials is astonishing,” said the report’s Len Sherman, an executive-in-residence at Columbia Business School who has written extensively on the economics of the ride-hail industry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

Nevertheless, underneath all the mathematics, Leibniz’s differentials still had the same forbidden 0/0 nature that plagued Newton’s fluxions.

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

Related Words

• characteristic
• contrast
• difference
• differentiation
• discrepancy
• discrimination
• divergence
• division
• judgment
• nicety
• perception
• quality
• sensitivity
• separation