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different

dif·fer·ent

different

 
 
pronunciation:
dI fr nt [or] dI frnt
features:
Language Note, Word Parts
part of speech: adjective
definition 1: When something is different, it is not like something else in certain ways.
A donkey and a horse are the same in some ways, but they are different in other ways. Donkeys always have longer ears than horses, and donkeys are usually smaller.
synonyms:
diverse, unlike
antonyms:
alike, equal, identical, same, similar
definition 2: When two things are different, they are not the exact same thing. When you walk a different way to school from your sister, it means that you walk one way to school and she walks another. The paths to school are not the same paths.
My best friend moved to another place in the city, so we go to different schools now.I'm wearing the same jeans as I wore yesterday, but I'm wearing a different shirt.
synonyms:
distinct
antonyms:
identical, related, same
similar words:
individual, single
derivations: differently (adv.), differentness (n.)
Language Note
There is no firm rule to tell you when to use different from and when to use different than. Most of the time, different from comes before a noun phrase. Different than usually comes before a clause. (A clause is a sentence part with a noun and a verb.)
The shoes Cinderella wore to the ball were different from her everyday ones. After midnight, she looked different than she did at the ball.
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