comparison — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The act of comparing or the state or process of being compared.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   parallel

   Examples

   to bring a thing into comparison with another

   there is no comparison between them

   More examples (1)

   Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.

2. An evaluation of the similarities and differences of one or more things relative to some other or each other.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   He made a careful comparison of the available products before buying anything.

   As sharp legal practitioners, no class of human beings can bear a comparison with them.

   More examples (2)

   The miracles of our Lord and those of the Old Testament afford many interesting points of comparison.

   "I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." ¶ "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve.[…]"

3. With a negation, the state of being similar or alike.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   There really is no comparison between the performance of today's computers and those of a decade ago.

4. A feature in the morphology or syntax of some languages whereby adjectives and adverbs are inflected to indicate the relative degree of the property they define exhibited by the word or phrase they modify or describe.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   In English, adjectives and adverbs have three forms when making a comparison: the plain form "hot", the comparative form "hotter", and the superlative form "hottest".

5. That to which, or with which, a thing is compared, as being equal or like; illustration; similitude.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   Whereto shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what comparison shall we compare it?

6. A simile.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • rhetoric
   • Uncountable

7. The faculty of the reflective group which is supposed to perceive resemblances and contrasts.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

Noun

1. the act of examining resemblances

   Synonyms

   comparing

   Broader terms

   examinationscrutiny

   Examples

   they made a comparison of noise levels

   the fractions selected for comparison must require pupils to consider both numerator and denominator

2. relation based on similarities and differences

   Broader terms

   relation

3. qualities that are comparable

   Synonyms

   compareequivalencecomparability

   Broader terms

   likenessalikenesssimilitude

   Examples

   no comparison between the two books

   beyond compare