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by Kate Woodford

My last two posts have focused on the language that we use to describe people and things that are similar or the same, covering words such as identical and analogous and expressions such as dead ringer and spitting image. In this post, I look at the language of differences, considering single words in this area.

Let’s start with a couple of useful verbs. If one thing differs from another, or two or more things differ, they are different in some way:

Their project differed from other comparable studies in several key respects. / Opinions differ widely on the subject. / We hold differing views.

If things of the same type vary, they are different from each other, and if you vary something, you repeatedly change it so that it keeps being different:

The leaf shape is the same, but the flowers vary in colour. / I try to vary my exercise routine so my whole body gets a workout.

The preposition unlike is used to mean ‘different from something or someone else’. It is often followed by the words any, anything, and anyone:

His stories are quite unlike anything else I’ve ever read. / It’s unlike any other production of the play I’ve ever seen.

Moving on to adjectives, the word distinct describes two or more things that are clearly different from each other, or of clearly different types:

The two concepts are quite distinct from each other. / Members fall into three distinct groups.

The similar word distinctive describes something that is easy to recognize because it is different from others of the same type:

It’s these berries that give the drink its distinctive flavour.

Meanwhile, the adjective contrasting describes two or more things that are very noticeably different:

The two candidates’ contrasting styles were never more apparent.

A number of adjectives mean ‘including many different types’, for example, the adjectives varied and diverse:

These creatures enjoy a varied diet of fish, earthworms, and small mammals.

It’s a smaller city and not as culturally diverse as the capital.

The adjective heterogeneous means the same, but it is more formal and often used in a scientific context:

The results reflect the heterogeneous nature of the sample.

The adjectives miscellaneous and sundry describe a group of very different items that are not in any way related:

We’d put aside a box for mugs, books, pens, and other miscellaneous items. / There’s a kiosk selling papers, cigarettes, chewing gum and sundry other items.

Finally, the rather formal adjective dissimilar means ‘different from someone or something else’ and is often used in the phrase ‘not dissimilar’ to mean ‘quite similar’:

We’re alike in some ways and very dissimilar in others.

Despite being brought up in different countries, our backgrounds were not dissimilar.

If you’ve enjoyed this post, please look out for Part 2 featuring idioms that mean ‘different’.