different
adjective · adverb
Simple meaning
Not the same.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
diferuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɪfɚənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Not the same; exhibiting a difference.
Distinct, separate; used for emphasis after numbers and other determiners of quantity.
Various, assorted, diverse.
Unlike most others; unusual.
adverb
Differently.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not the same; exhibiting a difference.
Used this way, different is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use different
- “Took different approaches to the problem.”adjective
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
The result of mathematical differentiation.
A discrimination between things as different and distinct on the basis of their characteristics or attributes.
Possessing a differential coefficient or derivative.
In another and different manner.
In a differential manner.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Mark as different.
Made different (especially in the course of development) or shown to be different.
A bevel gear that permits rotation of two shafts at different speeds.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “different” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.