comparison

Word family

• compare
  verbB1
• comparable
  adjectiveB2
• comparative
  adjectiveB1
• comparatively
  adverbB2
• incomparable
  adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all four words relate to how things relate to one another, each takes a different starting point. A comparison can look at both similarities and differences — it is the broadest term. A contrast zeroes in on differences only, often vivid or striking ones ('the contrast between city life and rural life'). A distinction is a single point of difference that sets two things apart ('the main distinction between a frog and a toad'). An analogy is a comparison designed to explain something unfamiliar by linking it to something familiar ('the teacher used an analogy of a family tree to explain evolution'). A similarity, by contrast, focuses on what is alike rather than different. When writing academically, draw a comparison when you want a balanced look, use contrast to highlight oppositions, and use analogy when the goal is explanation rather than evaluation.

Common collocations

Etymology

The word comparison comes from Old French compareson, which traces back to the Latin noun comparatio ('a pairing or matching'). That Latin noun is built from the verb comparare ('to pair, to match'), which itself combines com- ('together') and par ('equal'). The earliest English uses, from the 1300s, referred to the grammatical idea of comparing adjectives (big, bigger, biggest), but by the 1400s the word had broadened to the general act of examining things side by side.