- dissimilarity
- dissimilarity, unlikeness, difference, divergence, divergency, distinction are comparable when they mean lack of agreement or correspondence (or an instance of such lack) in appearance, in qualities, or in nature brought out by a comparison of two or more things.Dissimilarity and unlikeness, the most general terms in this group, are often used interchangeably without loss, but when there is little basis for comparison and the contrast is obvious, dissimilarity is usually preferred{
the effectiveness of a metaphor depends, in part, on the dissimilarity of the things which are compared
}{the injunction that the most recent comers slough off all the traits of their dissimilarity also implied that homogeneity was itself socially desirable— Handling
}Unlikeness is commonly the preferred term, however, when the things contrasted belong to a common category, and there are fundamental likenesses between them{but he was rich where I was poor, and he supplied my want the more as his unlikeness fitted mine— Tennyson
}{the likenesses among human beings as well as the unlikenesses— Wiggam
}Difference suggests notice of a quality or feature which marks one thing as apart from another. The term may imply want of resemblance in one or more particulars{note the differences between the first poems of Keats and those written after he had achieved mastery of his art
}{there are both resemblances and differences in the designs of these two cathedrals
}or want of identity{difference of opinion is the one crime which kings never forgive— Emerson
}{difference of religion breeds more quarrels than difference of politics— Phillips
}or a disagreement or cause of disagreement which separates individuals or makes them hostile to each other{there have been differences between them for some time
}Divergence or divergency applies to a difference between things or less often persons having the same origin, the same ends, or the same background or belonging to the same type or class; there is usually an implication of a difference that makes for cleavage or increasing unlikeness{an illustration of the divergences between countries both highly democratic— Bryce
}{the greatest divergence in the educational value of studies is due to the varying degree to which they require concentration, judgment, observation, and imagination— Grandgent
}{increasing divergencies between British and French policies— Welles
}Distinction usually implies want of resemblance in detail, especially in some minute or not obvious detail; it therefore commonly applies to a difference that is brought out by close observation, study, or analysis or that marks the line of division between two like things{point out the distinction in meaning between two close synonyms
}{a hairsplitting distinction between "original" and "creative" writing
}{apprehend the vital distinction between religion and criticism— A mold
}{so intoxicated with dreams of fortune that he had lost all sense of the distinction between reality and illusion— Brooks
}{this is not a distinction without a difference. It is not like the affair of "an old hat cocked" and "a cocked old hat" . . . but there is a difference here in the nature of things— Sterne
}Analogous words: difference, diversity, disparity (see corresponding adjectives at DIFFERENT): discrepancy, discordance, inconsonance (see corresponding adjectives at INCONSONANT)Antonyms: similarity
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
