Comparison Meaning
/kəmˈpæɹ.ɪ.sən/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe act of comparing or the state or process of being compared.
nounAn evaluation of the similarities and differences of one or more things relative to some other or each other.
Sentence Examples
The buildings are small in comparison with the skyscrapers in New York.
In comparison with this, that is far better.
Comparison was the most important method of analysis in sociology.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
A detailed ____ of the two methods revealed significant differences in efficiency.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
By direct ____, this year's harvest was significantly larger than last year's poor yield.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English comparisoun, from Old French comparison, from Latin comparātiō, from comparātus, perfect passive participle of comparō.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
"As sharp legal practitioners, no class of human beings can bear a comparison with them."
— 1841, Thomas Macaulay, Warren Hastings:
"The miracles of our Lord and those of the Old Testament afford many interesting points of comparison."
— 1850, Richard Chenevix Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord:
""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.[…]""
— 1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter II, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC:
"Whereto shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what comparison shall we compare it?"
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 4:30:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
A detailed ____ of the two methods revealed significant differences in efficiency.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
By direct ____, this year's harvest was significantly larger than last year's poor yield.