differentiate — English Dictionary

differentiate
Pronunciations (6)
  • /dɪf.əˈɹɛn.ʃi.eɪt/
    Pronunciation notes
    • Received-Pronunciation
  • /ˌdɪf.əˈɹɛn.ʃi.eɪt/
    Pronunciation notes
    • Canada
    • General-American
  • /dɪf.əˈɹen.ʃi.æɪt/
    Pronunciation notes
    • Australia
  • /dəf.əˈɹen.ʃi.æɪt/
    Pronunciation notes
    • New-Zealand
  • dɪf.əˈɹɛn.ʃi.eɪt
    Pronunciation notes
    • GB
  • ˌdɪ.fəˈɹɛnt.ʃi.eɪt
    Pronunciation notes
    • US

Verb

  1. To modify so as to create a difference or distinction.

    Usage
    • Transitive
    Examples

    A humble instance of Ablaut may be quoted which took place in the seventeenth century, when the word then was differentiated into the two forms then and than.

  2. To show or be the difference or distinction between things.

    Usage
    • Transitive
    Examples

    What differentiates an alligator from a crocodile?

    Taste differentiates a gentleman—for instance, Mr. Addison—from a Hottentot or Laplander.

  3. To recognize as different or distinct.

    Usage
    • Transitive
    Antonyms
    Examples

    How do you differentiate a fake smile from a genuine one?

    More examples (2)

    In the earlier chapters uncouth proper names are reduced to a minimum, but the Index refers by name to specific places and persons only generally mentioned in the earlier pages. For instance, the states of Lu and Chêng on pages 22 and 29 : it is hard enough to differentiate Ts‘i, Tsin, Ts‘in, and Ts‘u at the outstart, without crowding the memory with fresh names until the necessity for it absolutely arises.

    The mass of the rich and poor are differentiated by their incomes and nothing else, and the average millionaire is only the average dishwasher dressed in a new suit.

  4. To calculate the derivative of a function.

    Usage
    • Transitive
  5. To calculate the differential of a function of multiple variables.

    Usage
    • Transitive
  6. To perceive the difference between things; to discriminate.

    Usage
    • Intransitive
    Examples
    More examples (1)

    he refused to instruct that actual intent to harm or recklessness had to be found before punitive damages could be awarded, or that a verdict for respondent should differentiate between compensatory and punitive damages.

  7. To teach a lesson in multiple different ways in order to meet the needs of more or less advanced students.

    Usage
    • Intransitive
    Examples
    More examples (1)

    Like most teaching, differentiating is a mix of art and science. When it works, "it's like a jazz rhythm," said Carol Tomlinson, an education professor at the University of Virginia and an expert on differentiation.

    Moreover, children of STIP-teachers who showed many types of differentiation activities learnt more than children of STIP-teachers who differentiated less.

    More examples (1)

    I use technology to differentiate in my Algebra classroom in many different ways. Sometimes, I put this technology in the hands of students and sometimes I use it myself to streamline a process.

  8. To (cause to) go through a process of development called differentiation; to make or become different in form or function.

    Usage
    • Intransitive
    • Transitive
    Synonyms
    Examples
    More examples (2)

    In Chapter IV we learned that every animal consists of a body, or soma, formed of cells that are differentiated from the germ cells usually at an early stage of development.

    Osteoblasts are derived from stromal cells, a type of connective tissue cell in the bone marrow, whereas osteoclasts differentiate from macrophages, which are tissue-bound derivatives of monocytes, a type of white blood cell (see p. 402).

Noun

  1. Something that has been differentiated or stratified.

    Examples
    More examples (2)

    There is no discernable tendency, however, for the differentiates to fall into two extremities, as would be expected if they were trending toward distinct eutectics in a residua system.

    This latter terminology is particularly favored by Soviet petrologists, e.g.. Bogatikov et al. (1985), who believe that any magma typically exhibits both agpaitic and miascitic differentiates.

Verb

  1. mark as different

    Broader terms
    Examples

    We distinguish several kinds of maple

  2. be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sense

    Examples

    His modesty distinguishes him from his peers

  3. calculate a derivative; take the derivative

    Antonyms
  4. become different during development

    Broader terms
    Examples

    cells differentiate

  5. evolve so as to lead to a new species or develop in a way most suited to the environment

    Broader terms
  6. become distinct and acquire a different character

    Broader terms
Word forms
differentiatesdifferentiatingdifferentiateddifferentiateddifferentiates

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