just-noticeable difference
noun · n
Simple meaning
The difference between two stimuli that is detected as often as it is undetected.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
juhstnahtuhsuhbuhldihferuhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdʒʌstˈnɑtəsəbəldɪfɚəns
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.
noun
psychophysics
The difference between two stimuli that (under properly controlled experimental conditions) is detected as often as it is undetected
n
Circles in the upper row grow in arithmetic progression: each one is larger by 10 units than previous one.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (psychophysics) the difference between two stimuli that (under properly controlled experimental conditions) is detected as often as it is undetected
Used this way, just-noticeable difference is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.