Library / English Dictionary

DIFFER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be of different opinions

Example:

She disagrees with her husband on many questions

Synonyms:

differ; disagree; dissent; take issue

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "differ"):

dissent (withhold assent)

clash (disagree violently)

contradict; contravene; negate (deny the truth of)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

difference (a disagreement or argument about something important)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be different

Example:

These two tests differ in only one respect

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "differ"):

depart; deviate; diverge; vary (be at variance with; be out of line with)

vary (be subject to change in accordance with a variable)

contrast; counterpoint (to show differences when compared; be different)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Antonym:

equal (be identical or equivalent to)

Derivation:

difference (the quality of being unlike or dissimilar)

different (differing from all others; not ordinary)

different (unlike in nature or quality or form or degree)

different (distinctly separate from the first)

different (distinct or separate)

Credits

 Context examples: 

We know that individuals' responses to vaccination vary greatly and that the protection provided differs substantially between people.

(Gut Bacteria from Breastfeeding Linked to Improved Infant Response to Vaccines, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Many of the genes that differed according to the sex of the baby in the placenta had not previously been seen to differ by sex in other tissues of the body.

(Baby’s sex affects mother’s metabolism and may influence risk of pregnancy-related complications, University of Cambridge)

However, the regulatory targets and binding patterns differ significantly across species.

(Expanding Our Understanding of Genomics, NIH)

The analogue's structure differs only slightly from CTP's — but the difference is sufficient to bring viral replication to a halt.

(Scientists Discover How Antiviral Gene Works, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

While the individual simulations of the model differed on the timing, the research suggests that changes may be inevitable in large regions of the Southern Ocean, regardless of future mitigation efforts.

(Marine organisms in Southern Ocean will face shallower zone for life, National Science Foundation)

The composition of PE found in F. tularensis differs from PE found in other bacteria.

(Natural lipid acts as potent anti-inflammatory, National Institutes of Health)

However, when looking at fat mass and muscle mass separately, children who engaged in sport every day had significantly more muscle development, while their fat mass did not significantly differ.

(Children who walk to school less likely to be overweight or obese, study suggests, University of Cambridge)

They found that, although the Sun's cycles appear to differ from those of other stars of its type, they are governed by the same laws working in the same way.

(Sun's mood swings not so strange after all, Wikinews)

Family members differ in tissue distribution.

(Calcium-Activated Chloride Channel-2, NCI Thesaurus)

There are two main isoforms of the protein, which differ in their calcium requirement for activation.

(Calpain, NCI Thesaurus)