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different

dif·fer·ent

different

 
 
pronunciation:
dI fr nt [or] dI frnt
features:
Word Combinations (adjective), Language Note, Word Parts
part of speech: adjective
definition 1: not the same; unlike.
Japanese and Chinese are very different languages.
synonyms:
disparate, dissimilar, divergent, diverse, unlike
antonyms:
akin, alike, allied, close, comparable, equal, equivalent, homogeneous, identical, same, similar
similar words:
contrary, deviant, incomparable, variant
definition 2: separate or distinct.
My sister and I may be twins, but we are still different people.
synonyms:
distinct, separate
antonyms:
identical, related, same, selfsame
similar words:
discrete, individual, single
definition 3: not ordinary; unusual.
He has a different way of looking at life.
synonyms:
distinctive, singular, unusual
antonyms:
ordinary, regular
similar words:
extraordinary, individual, novel, odd, peculiar, unique, variant
definition 4: of differing kinds; various.
As an undercover police officer, she has worn many different disguises.
synonyms:
various
antonyms:
unvarying
similar words:
diverse, miscellaneous, sundry
Word CombinationsSubscriber feature About this feature
derivations: differently (adv.), differentness (n.)
Language Note
There is no firm rule to tell you when to use different from and when to use different than. Most of the time, different from comes before a noun phrase. Different than usually comes before a clause. (A clause is a sentence part with a noun and a verb.)
The shoes Cinderella wore to the ball were different from her everyday ones. After midnight, she looked different than she did at the ball.
Word PartsSubscriber feature About this feature