Different Meaning
/ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot the same; exhibiting a difference.
adjVarious, assorted, diverse.
Sentence Examples
I suppose it's different when you think about it over the long term.
Your ideas are different from mine.
American English is significantly different from British English.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her opinion on the matter was ____ from everyone else in the group.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I suppose it's ____ when you think about it over the long term.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti Proto-Italic *ferō Latin ferō Latin differō Latin differēnsder. Old French differentbor. Middle English different English different From Middle English different, from Old French different, from Latin differēns, present active participle of differō (“to differ”). See also differ. Mostly supplanted native Old English ungelic in common usage, which lives on as unalike in Modern English.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"At Elizabeth-Jane mentioning how greatly Lucetta had been jeopardized, he exhibited an agitation different in kind no less than in intensity from any she had seen in him before."
— 1886, Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge:
"Enter the American tourist. He thinks of himself as a good guy but when he looks in the mirror to shave this good guy he has to admit that "well, other people are different from me and I don't really like them." This makes him feel guilty toward other people."
— 1971, William S. Burroughs, The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead, page 6:
"Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found."
— 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
"In any case, poor black respondents living in high-poverty neighborhoods are most likely to view their neighborhood as a single block or block group and to use this definition consistently when asked about different neighborhood characteristics and activities."
— 2006, Delbert S. Elliott et al., Good Kids from Bad Neighborhoods: Successful Development in Social Context, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 19:
"Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads."
— 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, archived from the original on 24 Apr 2013, page 200:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her opinion on the matter was ____ from everyone else in the group.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I suppose it's ____ when you think about it over the long term.