Word of the Day: Comparison

comparison

com-par-i-son / kəm-păr-ĭ-sən

noun

1. the act of examining two or more things with the view of discovering the similarities or differences

Comparisons make enemies of our friends.

American Proverb

2. the state of association based on similarities and differences

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803 – 1882

3. a statement of the similarities and differences between two or more things

All pleasures palled upon me; all sights tantalized and tempted me to outspoken treason, because I could not but compare what I saw in Two Dimensions with what it really was if seen in Three, and could hardly refrain from making my comparisons aloud.

From “Flatland” by Edwin Abbott, 1838 – 1926

4. likeness; the quality of being similar to another; similarity

There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying.

Francis Bacon, 1561 – 1626

5. in grammar, the inflection or other modification to an adjective or adverb to denote the degree of superiority or inferiority of the word to its base, such as with cold, colder and coldest

The first thing that you should remember about degrees of comparison is that they are used to compare adjectives and adverbs.

“Degrees of Comparison – What Do They Mean and How To Use Them With Examples”, www.byjus.com/english/degrees-of-comparison, accessed December 5, 2023