difference
- 01 B1 Intermediate
a noticeable effect or improvement in a situation.
a significant effect, influence, or change in a state of affairs.
Simple“The new medicine made a big difference to her health.”
In context“The charitable donation made a substantial difference to the community, allowing the local library to expand its digital collection.”
Usagecommonly used in the phrase 'make a difference'.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a disagreement or argument between people.
a disagreement or dispute regarding opinion or policy.
Simple“The two friends decided to settle their differences and be kind again.”
In context“Despite their political differences, the two leaders managed to reach a compromise on the environmental treaty.”
Usageoften used in the plural 'differences'.
Synonyms - 03 B1 Intermediate
the amount that remains after you subtract one number from another.
the remainder or result obtained by subtracting one quantity from another.
Simple“The difference between ten and four is six.”
In context“The statistical analysis focused on the significant difference between the control group and the experimental group results.”
Usage apparent difference · assess difference · considerable difference
From Middle English difference, from Old French difference, from Latin differentia (“difference”), from differēns (“different”), present participle of differre. Doublet of differentia. Morphologically differ + -ence.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.