Comparison definition | Dictionary.com

Synonyms

affinity, analogy, correspondence, resemblance, similarity, similitude, uniformity, allegory, collation, connection, contrasting, distinguishing

More Synonyms»

Nearby Entries

Comparison - 7 dictionary results

Sponsored Links Scan Prices
Compare Prices Before You Buy Find Over 38 000 000 Products
www.mattcompare.com

Compare Prices Now
Free bottom-line price comparisons. Try it! It's fast and easy to use.
PriceGrabber.com

com⋅par⋅i⋅son

[kuh

m-par-uh-suh

–noun

1.	the act of comparing.

2.	the state of being compared.

3.	a likening; illustration by similitude; comparative estimate or statement.

4.	Rhetoric. the considering of two things with regard to some characteristic that is common to both, as the likening of a hero to a lion in courage.

5.	capability of being compared or likened.

Grammar.

a.	the function of an adverb or adjective that is used to indicate degrees of superiority or inferiority in quality, quantity, or intensity.

b.	the patterns of formation involved therein.

c.	the degrees of a particular word, displayed in a fixed order, as mild, milder, mildest, less mild, least mild.

Origin:
1300–50; ME comparesoun < OF comparaison < L comparātiōn- (s. of comparātiō). See compare, -ation

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Cite This Source

Language Translation for : Comparison

Spanish:

comparación,

German:

der Vergleich,

Japanese:

比較

View 30 other languages »

Sponsored Links Scan Prices
Compare Prices Before You Buy Find Over 38 000 000 Products
www.mattcompare.com

Compare Prices Now
Free bottom-line price comparisons. Try it! It's fast and easy to use.
PriceGrabber.com

com·par·i·son (kəm-pār'ĭ-sən) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. The act of comparing or the process of being compared.
2. A statement or estimate of similarities and differences.
The quality of being similar or equivalent; likeness: no comparison between the two books.
Grammar The modification or inflection of an adjective or adverb to denote the positive, comparative, and superlative degrees, as in English, along with the equative degree in certain other languages, such as Irish Gaelic.

[Middle English comparisoun, from Old French comparaison, from Latin comparātiō, comparātiōn-, from comparātus, past participle of comparāre, to compare; see compare.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

comparison

1340, from O.Fr. comparaison, from L. comparationem, from pp. stem of comparare "make equal with, liken," from com- "with" + parare "to make equal."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

comparison
noun
1.	the act of examining resemblances; "they made a comparison of noise levels"; "the fractions selected for comparison must require pupils to consider both numerator and denominator"
2.	relation based on similarities and differences
3.	qualities that are comparable; "no comparison between the two books"; "beyond compare"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Cite This Source

comparison

A confirmation from one broker to another with respect to the details of a security trade. Also called broker comparison, comp.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today's Investor by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source

Comparison

Com*par"i*son\ (? or ?), n. [F. comparaison, L. comparatio. See 1st Compare.]

1. The act of comparing; an examination of two or more objects with the view of discovering the resemblances or differences; relative estimate.

As sharp legal practitioners, no class of human beings can bear comparison with them. --Macaulay.

The miracles of our Lord and those of the Old Testament afford many interesting points of comparison. --Trench.

2. The state of being compared; a relative estimate; also, a state, quality, or relation, admitting of being compared; as, to bring a thing into comparison with another; there is no comparison between them.

3. That to which, or with which, a thing is compared, as being equal or like; illustration; similitude.

Whereto shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what comparison shall we compare it? --Mark iv. 30.

4. (Gram.) The modification, by inflection or otherwise, which the adjective and adverb undergo to denote degrees of quality or quantity; as, little, less, least, are examples of comparison.

5. (Rhet.) A figure by which one person or thing is compared to another, or the two are considered with regard to some property or quality, which is common to them both; e.g., the lake sparkled like a jewel.

6. (Phren.) The faculty of the reflective group which is supposed to perceive resemblances and contrasts.

Beyond comparison, so far superior as to have no likeness, or so as to make comparison needless.

In comparison of, In comparison with, as compared with; in proportion to. [Archaic] "So miserably unpeopled in comparison of what it once was." --Addison.

Comparison of hands (Law), a mode of proving or disproving the genuineness of a signature or writing by comparing it with another proved or admitted to be genuine, in order to ascertain whether both were written by the same person. --Bouvier. --Burrill.

Comparison

Com*par"i*son\, v. t. To compare. [Obs.] --Wyclif.

Search another word or see Comparison on Thesaurus | Reference | Translate

Sponsored Links Scan Prices
Compare Prices Before You Buy Find Over 38 000 000 Products
www.mattcompare.com

Compare Prices Now
Free bottom-line price comparisons. Try it! It's fast and easy to use.
PriceGrabber.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Link to Us · Report Ad · Contact Us

Get your FREE Subscription to Dictionary.com Word of the Day