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compare

com·pare

compare

 
 
pronunciation:
km per
parts of speech:
transitive verb, intransitive verb, noun
phrases:
compare apples to oranges
features:
Word Combinations (verb), Note, Word Parts
part of speech: transitive verb
inflections: compares, comparing, compared
definition 1: to note the likenesses and differences of.
The professor compared the economic system in the U.S. with the economic system in China.If you compare the two brothers, you'll see that they're both very intelligent but one is interested in academics and the other is not.
synonyms:
liken
similar words:
analogize, contrast, differentiate
definition 2: to bring together for the purpose of noting likenesses and differences.
The police compared the two sets of fingerprints and found that they didn't match.
synonyms:
juxtapose
similar words:
measure, oppose, relate
definition 3: to liken (one thing) to another.
He compared her eyes to two shimmering pools.She compared her daughter's room to a pigsty.
 
part of speech: intransitive verb
definition: to be considered similar.
Nothing can compare to a good cup of coffee in the morning.They say these symphonies compare somewhat to those of Haydn.
similar words:
approximate, correspond, match
Word CombinationsSubscriber feature About this feature
 
part of speech: noun
definition: comparison.
She is an artist beyond compare.
similar words:
analogy, likeness, match, parallel, resemblance, similarity
phrase: compare apples to oranges
derivation: comparer (n.)
compare to or compare with?
Compare to is used to say that something is like another thing. Compare with is used when you look at two things to find out whether they are the same or different, or to describe in what ways they are similar or different. In recent years, the use of "compare with" has decreased, however, and many people are using "compare to" for both meanings, especially in the expression "compared to." Some strict grammar teachers might still say that the sentence "It's very cold today compared to yesterday" is incorrect, but the use of "to" in this type of sentence is accepted as correct by most people nowadays.
Compare:
  • She compared her boyfriend to a handsome movie star.
  • She compared her old car with her new car.
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