Use the word compare in a sentence

Synonym: contrast, liken, match, measure. Similar words: comparable, comparison, by comparison, in comparison with, company, accompany, companion, keep company with. Meaning: [kəm’peə]  n. qualities that are comparable. v. 1. examine and note the similarities or differences of 2. be comparable 3. consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous 4. to form the comparative or superlative form on an adjective or adverb. 

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1 Compare your grievs with other men’s and they will seem less. 

2 It is interesting to compare their situation and ours.

3 Struggle comparing upward. Happy compare downward.

4 It is hard to compare.

5 Compare the two illustrations in Fig 60.

6 Do not always compare me with others, please.

7 This one cannot compare with that one.

8 The only person you should compare yourself to,[www.Sentencedict.com] is the person you were yesterday.

9 If you compare house prices in the two areas, it’s quite amazing how different they are.

10 How does your new house compare with your old one?

11 Compare the two poems.

12 Statistical anomalies can make it difficult to compare economic data from one year to the next.

13 You can’t compare them — there is a fundamental difference in kind.

14 Compare this new TV set with the old one, you will see which is better.

15 Compare the physical properties of the two substances.

16 Instant coffee just doesn’t compare with freshly ground coffee.

17 Compare the areas of these triangles.

18 The loveliness of the scene was beyond compare.

19 Their prices compare favourably with those of their competitors.

20 Her beauty is beyond compare.

21 They don’t begin to compare.

22 Compare the copy with the original.

23 Walking can’t compare with flying.

24 These mountains do not compare with the Himalayas.

25 How does your bike compare with mine?

26 Cast iron cannot compare with steel in strength.

27 These figures compare favourably with last year’s.

28 Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss. But every once in a while, you find someone who’s iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare.

29 We don’t have a common yardstick by which to compare the two cases.

30 How does this final presidential debate stack up and compare to the others, do you think?

More similar words: comparable, comparison, by comparison, in comparison with, company, accompany, companion, keep company with, impact, impair, rampage, sympathy, campaign, comply, compel, par., complex, compose, prompt, compete, part, comprise, compound, computer, component, spark, parent, party, complaint, depart. 

Definition of Compare

to note similarities between things

Examples of Compare in a sentence

Auditors will compare the two files to see if they equal up.

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When we compare our district to the surrounding ones, our academic testing score.

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Before shift change, the two nurses began to compare notes to see if there were any discrepancies.

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When you compare traditional folktales around the world, you will find that the themes are very similar.

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Consumers on Amazon compare the iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 to see if there is the differences outweigh the things they have in common.

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Sentence with word compare. The sentences below are ordered by length from shorter and easier to longer and more complex. They use compare in a sentence, providing visitors a sentence for compare.

  • Compare the two. (3)
  • How many hearts with you compare! (10)
  • What fabled height with thee compare! (10)
  • Compare Grieg and Sinding. (3)
  • You compare her to a rock. (10)
  • Compare Rubinstein and Liszt. (3)
  • Compare the Aria and the Song. (3)
  • Compare you the Alps with them? (10)
  • I can compare it to nothing else. (12)
  • What fate could compare with that? (8)
  • Compare them to the notes now in use. (3)
  • Compare him with Schubert and Schumann. (3)
  • Ay, but compare yourself with him, Richie! (10)
  • Compare the Italian and the German tendencies. (3)
  • Compare the German, French and English schools. (3)
  • She would not calculate, she would not compare. (4)
  • Compare the great makers of violins and their work. (3)
  • Compare the Gallo-Belgic and the Netherlands schools. (3)
  • Compare the works of Spohr and Marschner with those of Weber. (3)
  • Our southern men will not compare with the men of the north. (10)
  • I know nothing to compare with it, for he is a man of warmth. (10)
  • Observe, I do not compare the wines; I distinguish the qualities. (10)
  • Compare the Italian Opera with the form developed by Lully and Rameau. (3)
  • They have their opportunity to compare the portrait with the original. (10)
  • Compare a madrigal with a modern part-song and note the difference in style. (3)
  • Compare their manner of carrying themselves; of walking; of speaking; of being silent. (4)
  • I compare it to an earthquake: we lose all our reliance on the solidity of the world. (10)
  • Compare any New York paper but one with the London papers, and you will see what I mean. (9)
  • Change the colour and you might compare her to a lobster fixed on end, with a chin and no eyes. (10)
  • And in his eyes just then there was the look that had made his tutor compare him to a lion cub in trouble. (8)
  • I came home with my prize, wet through with the only sure result of all earthly toils, and began to compare. (14)
  • I have at last found a haven, a refuge, and let those who condemn me compare the peace of their spirits with mine. (10)
  • It is not the winter of the steppes; you may compare her to winter in a noble country; a fine landscape of winter. (10)
  • She was happy to compare sensations with him, but hers were not of the complex order, and a potion soon righted her. (10)
  • Skepsey did not place the name of Matilda Pridden beside it or in any way compare two such entirely different persons. (10)
  • Surely the foreigner hearing our boasts of her must compare us to showmen bawling the attractions of a Fat Lady at a fair! (10)

Also see sentences for: like, liken.

Glad you visited this page with a sentence for compare. Now that you’ve seen how to use compare in a sentence hope you might explore the rest of this educational reference site Sentencefor.com to see many other example sentences which provide word usage information.

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[ kuhm-pair ]

/ kəmˈpɛər /

This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.


verb (used with object), com·pared, com·par·ing.

to examine (two or more objects, ideas, people, etc.) in order to note similarities and differences: to compare two pieces of cloth; to compare the governments of two nations.

to consider or describe as similar; liken: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

Grammar. to form or display the degrees of comparison of (an adjective or adverb).

verb (used without object), com·pared, com·par·ing.

to be worthy of comparison; be held equal: Dekker’s plays cannot compare with Shakespeare’s.

to appear in a similar standing: His recital certainly compares with the one he gave last year.

to differ in quality or accomplishment as specified: Their development compares poorly with that of neighbor nations.

to vie; rival: Can we all agree that most people want fair treatment and to compare favorably with others?

to make a comparison: The only way we can say which product is better is to compare.

noun

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Idioms about compare

    compare apples and / with / to oranges, to compare things that are fundamentally different from each other, usually used to suggest that the things cannot or should not be directly compared:Comparing per pupil costs in public schools to tuition costs in private schools is comparing apples and oranges.

    compare apples to / with / and apples, to compare things that are similar to each other in a basic or fundamental way:Let’s compare apples to apples and look at the Professional package versus the Plus package.

Origin of compare

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English comparen, from Latin comparāre “to place together, match,” verbal derivative of compar “alike, matching” (see com-, par1); replacing Middle English comperen, from Old French comperer, from Latin

usage note for compare

The traditional rule about which preposition to use after compare states that compare should be followed by to when it points out likenesses or similarities between two apparently dissimilar persons or things: She compared his handwriting to knotted string. Compare should be followed by with, the rule says, when it points out similarities or differences between two entities of the same general class: The critic compared the paintings in the exhibit with magazine photographs. This rule is by no means always observed, however, even in formal speech and writing. The usual practice is to employ to for likenesses between members of different classes: A language may be compared to a living organism. But when the comparison is between members of the same category, both to and with are used: The article compares the Chicago of today with (or to ) the Chicago of the 1890s. Following the past participle compared, either to or with is used regardless of whether differences or similarities are stressed or whether the things compared belong to the same or different classes: Compared with (or to ) the streets of 18th-century London, New York’s streets are models of cleanliness and order.

OTHER WORDS FROM compare

com·par·er, nounin·ter·com·pare, verb (used with object), in·ter·com·pared, in·ter·com·par·ing.pre·com·pare, verb (used with object), pre·com·pared, pre·com·par·ing.re·com·pare, verb (used with object), re·com·pared, re·com·par·ing.

un·com·pared, adjectivewell-com·pared, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH compare

compare , contrast

Words nearby compare

comparative philology, comparative psychology, comparative religion, comparative statement, comparator, compare, compare and contrast, compare notes, comparison, comparison microscope, comparison-shop

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to compare

analyze, contrast, correlate, equal, match, measure, study, connect, link, relate, approach, balance, bracket, collate, confront, consider, contemplate, divide, examine, hang

How to use compare in a sentence

  • The post Community Power Leaders Steaming About SDG&E Price Cut Right Before Consumers Compare Rates appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

  • As well as investing, the platform allows customers to spend their cash via partnerships with impact-oriented compares, and offset their carbon footprint through a subscription.

  • Get rid of excess moisture and up the starch content for crispiness beyond compare.

  • Compare that to Guardians of the Galaxy which opened in Korea on July 31.

  • And compare, as noted up top, to Secretary Clinton, who spent years quietly pushing a modernized Cuba policy.

  • To compare, Lana Del Rey sold over 100,000 copies that same week.

  • You can even compare your results to the top golfers in the world.

  • Now compare that to what happened when Sarah Palin’s emails were released.

  • Here he can inspect what he sees, say the reflection of the face of his mother or nurse, and compare it at once with the original.

  • Pentegot est une fort belle riviere, et peut 48 estre compare la Garonne de France.

  • A bull-fight is fearful enough, but it cannot compare with the struggle between a maddened buffalo and his pursuer.

  • In the Pedal department no reed or flue pipe can begin to compare with a Diaphone, either in attack or in volume of tone.

  • «And I can return the compliment,» was my reply, as we all gathered round a brew of tea to exchange news and compare notes.

British Dictionary definitions for compare


verb

(tr usually foll by to) to regard or represent as analogous or similar; likenthe general has been compared to Napoleon

(tr usually foll by with) to examine in order to observe resemblances or differencesto compare rum with gin

(intr usually foll by with) to be of the same or similar quality or valuegin compares with rum in alcoholic content

(intr) to bear a specified relation of quality or value when examinedthis car compares badly with the other

(intr usually foll by with) to correspond toprofits were £3.2 million. This compares with £2.6 million last year

(tr) grammar to give the positive, comparative, and superlative forms of (an adjective)

(intr) archaic to compete or vie

compare notes to exchange opinions

noun

comparison or analogy (esp in the phrase beyond compare)

Derived forms of compare

comparer, noun

Word Origin for compare

C15: from Old French comparer, from Latin comparāre to couple together, match, from compar equal to one another, from com- together + par equal; see par

Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with compare


In addition to the idiom beginning with compare

  • compare notes

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Sentences starting with compare

  • Compare this Invocation with «Frank Dutton»—particularly stanzas first and seventeenth—and I think the reader will feel convinced that he who wrote the one had read the other: I. [5]
  • Compare its serene trusting strength, with poor —-‘s vacillating dependence. [14]
  • Compare it with the state paper which announces the downfall of the Brazilian monarchy and proclaims the Republic of the United States of Brazil, and stand by to defend the Yankee from plagiarism. [5]
  • Compare it with the assassin’s signature upon the knife handle. [5]
  • Compare also with the alleged Poems already quoted. [5]
  • Compare the letters such people write with the other contents of the newspaper, and you will see which life is real. [4]
  • Compare Camp Jackson, or Baltimore, where a few people were shot, with some Paris street scenes after the Bastille. [9]
  • Compare this verse of his with the lines of Emerson’s which follow it. [6]

Sentences ending with compare

  • Who but the great Mr. Pitt, then the Earl of Chatham, whose wise policy had made Britain the ruler of the world, and rich beyond compare. [9]

Short sentences using compare

  • She can’t compare to you. [9]

More example sentences with the word compare in them

  • But I entreat you do not again compare yourself to the brainless Cyprian dame. [10]
  • In all the years I’ve spent here I’ve never seen one that could compare with him in nature, character, and force. [11]
  • Solomon’s court fool would have scoffed at the thought of the young Galilean who dared compare the lilies of the field to his august master. [6]
  • What can compare with the vase of yon alabaster fountain filled with crystal water? [4]
  • You once would willingly have married her, and I ask you, was there a maiden in Thebes—nay in all Egypt—to compare with her for beauty? [10]
  • And these creatures will compare these pins together, and if one is a shade finer than the rest, they will all be thrown on my hands, and I will have to order a new lot to keep peace in the family. [5]
  • If a naturalist, who had never before seen a Negro, Hottentot, Australian, or Mongolian, were to compare them, he would at once perceive that they differed in a multitude of characters, some of slight and some of considerable importance. [1]
  • There is nothing which, for pathos and for tragedy, can compare with a struggle between the young and the old. [11]
  • A hooked nose, which I compare to a vulture’s beak, is never found together with a submissive spirit. [10]
  • But the story which called out the most persistent and determined and ambitious effort was one which had no ending, and so there was nothing to compare the new-made endings with. [5]
  • The widow never wearied of gazing at the young man’s fresh, bright face, for although her son could not compare with him in beauty, there was an honest expression in the Junker’s eyes, which reminded her of her Wilhelm. [10]
  • We compare the weakened impression of a past temptation with the ever present social instincts, or with habits, gained in early youth and strengthened during our whole lives, until they have become almost as strong as instincts. [1]
  • And there never was a hold-up of a western express that could compare to the Consolidated Tractions. [9]
  • Several authors have used the strongest expressions in describing these resplendent colours, which they compare with those of the most brilliant birds. [1]
  • You have to turn back to Shakespeare for any talk of peasants and clowns and shepherds to compare with the conversations in this novel, so racy are they of the soil, and yet so touched with the finest art, the enduring art. [4]
  • I would not try to compare the two university towns, as one might who had to choose between them. [6]
  • I have been told to get as near the shade as I could; and so I compare and contrast, till the whole thing seems to me about of one color. [4]
  • The mere coming together to compare views and discuss interests and tendencies and problems which concern both the workers and the great public, cannot fail to be of benefit to both. [4]
  • You compare me to the Kaiser! [9]
  • You have only to read Cullen’s description of inflammation of the lungs or of the bowels, and compare it with such as you may find in Laennec or Watson, to see the immense gain which diagnosis and prognosis have derived from general anatomy. [3]
  • It is cheerful to meet a shipmate in these out-of-the-way places and compare notes with him. [5]
  • I was curious to know how the size of the trunk of this tree would compare with that of the trunks of some of our largest New England elms. [6]
  • Paris has nothing to compare with it for natural beauty,—Paris, which cannot let a tree grow, but must clip it down to suit French taste. [4]
  • It is interesting to compare this first sketch with the elaboration of it in the essay on «The Angler» in the «Sketch-Book. [4]
  • This requires us to compare the reality with the pictures in our own minds, seen with the inward eye, before we saw the reality. [10]
  • His actions in this war had become the theme of every tongue, and many hesitated not to compare him in prowess with the immortal Cid. [4]
  • But what was this Venice to compare with the Venice of midnight? [5]
  • When you compare these achievements of his with the achievements of really great men who exist in history, the comparison, I believe, is in his favor. [5]
  • People talk of the transparent waters of the Mexican Bay of Acapulco, but in my own experience I know they cannot compare with those I am speaking of. [5]
  • When we compare the differences in stature between the Polynesian chiefs and the lower orders within the same islands, or between the inhabitants of the fertile volcanic and low barren coral islands of the same ocean (18. [1]
  • Straight up in the air, out of the mountain, rose a white pillar, spreading out at the top like a palm-tree, or, to compare it to something I have seen, to the Italian pines, that come so picturesquely into all these Naples pictures. [4]
  • Doubtless she realized that time and the long period of hoarseness had seriously injured her voice, but even now she could compare with the best singers in the city. [10]
  • Despite the fact that the memories she had cherished were now become hideous things, she sought to drag them forth and compare them, ruthlessly, with what must have been the treasures of Lise. [9]
  • He came from that higher world to ours, but only a vague memory of his former home was permitted, lest he should compare his present abode with the old one and scorn it. [10]
  • He assured me that he had seen nothing anywhere in the wide world of nature and art to compare with the beauty of Nebraska. [4]
  • A lady from Tennessee asked me if I had ever seen anything to compare with it—she thought there could be nothing in the world. [4]
  • Only compare them, talking or writing, with one of those babbling, chattering dolls, of warmer latitudes, who do not know enough even to keep out of print, and who are interesting to us only as specimens of arrest of development for our psychological cabinets. [6]
  • Well, leaving out Switzerland, I have seen nothing in that beauty which satisfies the eye and wins the heart to compare with England in spring. [4]
  • Yes, it was so, it certainly was so!—But then he saw that other one, and I cannot compare with her. [10]
  • To compare the situations of any dwellings in either of the great cities with those which look upon the Common, the Public Garden, the waters of the Back Bay, would be to take an unfair advantage of Fifth Avenue and Walnut Street. [6]
  • And in the second place, it isn’t exactly—Well—dignified to compare the East and the West the way you do, and speak about people who are very rich and live there as though they were different from the people we know here. [9]
  • There is no red outside the arteries of an archangel that could compare with this. [5]
  • Two-story men compare, reason, generalize, using the labors of the fact-collectors as well as their own. [6]
  • Compare, with a prominent historian, our Boston Massacre and St. Bartholomew. [9]
  • Our time has produced nothing to compare with it! [10]
  • And then he pointed to his own straight legs, only slightly disfigured by an injury to the ankle, to show how shamefully unfair it was to compare them with the lower limbs of a misshapen dwarf. [10]
  • With the above paragraphs compare these that follow. [5]
  • I was that pale that if—why, you just compare it with this laprobe. [5]
  • There is no palace to compare with hers in all Egypt, not even in Alexandria. [10]
  • As to my own revenge, however, I can only compare it to a vineyard where the grapes are so plentiful, that I am not able to gather them all myself. [10]
  • We always compare ourselves with our contemporaries. [6]
  • But it had opinions of its own, and would compare well enough with the «Gentleman’s Magazine,» to say nothing of «My Grandmother’s Review, the British. [6]
  • Young is the only actor I have seen who can compare with him. [4]
  • There was no one to compare with him. [11]
  • The old houses of Tewkesbury compare well with the finest of those in Chester. [6]
  • Upon the question of expediency, we only ask you to examine the history of the times during the existence of the two banks, and compare those times with the miserable present. [7]
  • But there is nothing to compare the wine with. [5]
  • I have seen nothing that comes near it in Berkshire County, and few to compare with it anywhere. [6]
  • We may compare millions of faces, and each will be distinct. [1]
  • None in Nuremberg might compare with these two for manly dignity and womanly beauty, and was that sickly, bent horseman by the ditch worthy of them? [10]
  • Why, who in Memphis can stammer to compare with him? [10]
  • Tell la petite Marie that I still remain true to her, though surrounded by all the beauties of Seville; and that I swear (but this she must keep between ourselves) that there is not a little woman to compare with her in all Andalusia. [4]
  • He turned to look at Kutuzov and his suite, to compare his impressions with those of others. [2]
  • It must to know, Smiley was monstrously proud of his frog, and he of it was right, for some men who were travelled, who had all seen, said that they to him would be injurious to him compare to another frog. [5]
  • It must to know, Smiley was monstrously proud of his frog, and he of it was right, for some men who were traveled, who had all seen, said that they to him would be injurious to him compare, to another frog. [5]
  • I do not know any way to solve such a baffling riddle as that, there being no precedent for it, nothing in history to compare it with and examine it by. [5]
  • I ask the jury to compare them with the finger marks of the accused upon the windowpanes, and tell the court if they are the same. [5]
  • Whosoever will compare it with its predecessors will have no trouble in arriving at that decision. [5]
  • He had learned it so that, with his insatiable curiosity, his archaeological instinct, he should be able to compare it with the Nautch dance of India, the Hula-Hula of the Sandwich Islanders, the Siva of the Samoans. [11]
  • With her everything is on a giant scale—even her poverty; no other country can show anything to compare with it. [5]
  • It is an insult to the fish-market and the horse-ponds of Alexandria to compare them with them. [10]
  • It is very instructive to compare the two orations written at the interval of a whole generation: one in 1837, at the age of thirty-four; the other in 1867, at the age of sixty-four. [6]
  • Keeping that group in my mind, I can compare those complexions with the white ones which are streaming past this London window now: A lady. [5]
  • Let us compare his fictitious hero’s story with what we have read of his own life. [6]
  • Hell, here and hereafter, was the spectacle of wasted opportunity, and there is no suffering to compare to it. [9]
  • But she told her husband afterwards that there was nothing in the tableaux they had had in September to compare with what she then saw. [6]
  • It does not help me at all in my estimate of their characters to compare Mandeville with the Young Lady, or Our Next Door with the Parson. [4]
  • That morning when Helena, now an inmate of his own home, greeted him, he had essayed to compare her, mentally, with Cleopatra, but speedily desisted. [10]
  • Now, if ever, he must put forth his best powers, and he dreaded failure as an utter catastrophe, for on the face of the whole earth there was no second model to compare with this that stood before him. [10]
  • They wore glazed hats, and drove shabby vehicles for the most part; their horses would not compare with those of the London hansom drivers, and they themselves were not generally inviting in aspect, though we met with no incivility from any of them. [6]
  • Aye, no earthly happiness could compare with the blissful feeling left by those hours of pious ecstasy. [10]
  • All this talk had a certain danger in it, for sympathy is unavoidable between two persons who look ever so little into each other’s hearts and compare tastes and desires. [4]
  • I became very fond of the esplanade, such a public walk as I never saw anything to compare with. [6]
  • But they compare favorably with the Egyptian, for all that. [4]
  • I had not enjoyed a pleasure abroad which seemed to me to compare with the pleasure I felt in seeing New York harbor again. [5]
  • Even her worst enemy would not have ventured to compare her with this outcast, but she did herself as she thought of her own cropped hair and injured voice. [10]
  • So again, if during many years two careful breeders rear animals of the same family, and do not compare them together or with a common standard, the animals are found to have become, to the surprise of their owners, slightly different. [1]
  • Otherwise the Gaul did not resemble him in a single feature, and he might even have refused to compare his soft, wavy beard with the harsh, almost bristly one of the barbarian. [10]
  • And she had dared for one moment to compare this monster with Diodoros, the handsomest, the best, and most amiable of youths! [10]
  • It is really curious and interesting when you come to compare it with yours; in detail, with my former article to which it is a Reply in your hand. [5]
  • Glancing at her courtiers, she saw that none might compare with him, the form and being of calm boldness and courage. [11]
  • What feeling can compare with that I tasted when the brigantine lay on her side, the silver spray hurling over the bulwarks and stinging me to life! [9]
  • It may well compare with others of the finest memorial poems in the language,—with Shelley’s «Adonais,» and Matthew Arnold’s «Thyrsis,» leaving out of view Tennyson’s «In Memoriam» as of wider scope and larger pattern. [6]
  • She did not compare them with him, but compared her feeling for them with her feeling for him, and felt with regret that there was something lacking in her feeling for young Nicholas. [2]
  • And if we compare the opinion of Jefferson and Taylor, as expressed in these paragraphs, we shall find them more exactly alike than we can often find any two expressions having any literal difference. [7]
  • He can then compare it as to form, substance, tone, with the enduring literature that has come down to us from all the ages. [4]
  • When the King’s command led me to the Tiber, many things surprised me; but, as a whole, how shall I compare the two cities? [10]
  • Naturally enough, she carried the anonymous paper to the doctor, to get his opinion about it, and compare it with her own. [6]
  • Comparisons are odious, but they need not be malicious; and without any malice I wish to compare this journals of other countries. [5]
  • Was there any building in Greece to compare with Girard College, was there ever such a magnificent pile of stone devised for the shelter of poor orphans? [5]

This page helps answer: how do I use the word compare in a sentence? How do you use compare in a sentence? Can you give me a sentence for the word compare?
It contains example sentences with the word compare, a sentence example for compare, and compare in sample sentence.

While language helps us get clarity on a particular subject, it can sometimes be equally confusing.

We often get confused with words having almost similar meanings, but if we dig deeper, there’s a huge gap separating both words. Two such words added to the vocabulary of the English language are: Compare and Contrast.

Key Takeaways

  1. To compare means to examine the similarities or differences between two or more items, ideas, or concepts, highlighting the commonalities or distinctions between them.
  2. Contrast refers to identifying and emphasizing the differences between two or more items, ideas, or concepts, focusing on their distinctions.
  3. Comparing and contrasting are analytical processes used to evaluate and understand relationships between items or ideas. Still, comparing can involve examining similarities and differences, while contrast focuses exclusively on the differences.

The difference between Compare and Contrast is that while we draw similarities when we “compare” two objects, we draw differences when we “contrast” the same.

Compare vs Contrast

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When we use the word “compare” in a sentence, we mean that we draw similarities between two objects or situations.

We are here weighing the consequences of these objects or situations carrying similarities that may or may not be visible.

For example, if you compare a person living in India with someone living in Bangladesh, you are here deducing the coincidences of similarity.

You are considering the characteristics of both these people and forming an opinion or coming to a desirable conclusion. This weighing of characteristics of two different situations or objects can be called comparing.

Coming to the word “contrast”, the situation is quite the opposite here. While we draw similarities when we “compare” two objects/situations, we draw differences when we “contrast” the same.

The literal translation of the word contrast is “as opposed to” or “unlike”. The primary version of the word contrast is ” contrary”.

If you have to highlight the difference(s) between two given situations or objects, you may begin your sentence with “Contrary to…” or “In contrast of…”. Contrast underlines the characteristic(s) which segregate the situations or objects.


Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison Compare Contrast
Definition When we use the word “compare” in a sentence, we mean that we draw similarities between two objects or situations. When we use “contrast”, we draw differences when we “contrast” the same. The literal translation of the word contrast is “as opposed to” or “unlike”.
Characteristic Draws parallels between two situations. Draws differences between two situations.
Verb form I was comparing, In comparison to, etc. Contrary to, In contrast with, etc.
Example To compare is to weigh consequences. To contrast is to underline the differences.
Synonyms Verb form: Weighing, matching, conduct, etc. Verb form: To juxtapose, unlike, as opposed to, etc.

What does “Compare” mean?

Sometimes we incur a situation where we are expected to analyse two objects or circumstances and weigh their respective characteristics to conclude.

This drawing parallels or weighing two ideas can be called comparing (the verb form of ‘compare’). Let’s understand this more clearly through easy examples.

Suppose a person wants to vacation and is confused between Shimla and Darjeeling. Here, he/she will start comparing the characteristics of these places and the pros and cons of these places.

Both places are cold, but Shimla is colder. Both places have marvellous hills, but the mountains in Shimla are steeper.

This is how you “compare” the characteristics of two different situations and see the pros and cons of the situation.

In this manner, you compare or weigh the essentialities of two different or almost similar situations or things. You introspect and deduce your analogies of a given situation. This act of introspecting situations can be called comparing.

compare

What does “Contrast” mean?

Regarding the word “contrast”, the situation is quite the opposite here.

While we deduce similarities when we “compare” two different situations/objects or almost similar situations/objects, we deduce differences when we “contrast” the same.

Let’s take an easy example here to get a clearer perspective; when two people debate over an issue, one often begins his/her statement with “Contrary to what my fellow debater said” this directly the opposition reflected by the debater.

The word “contrary” means as opposed to. Unlike in “comparison”, there is no space to pick out similarities from the situations at hand; you only highlight what makes them stand apart and what separates them from each other.

If you have to highlight the difference(s) between two given situations or objects, you may begin your sentence with “Contrary to…” or “In contrast of…”. Contrast underlines the characteristic(s) which segregate the situations or objects.

contrast


Main Differences Between Compare and Contrast

  1. In ‘compare’, when we use the word “compare” in a sentence, we mean that we draw similarities between two objects or situations. In contrast, we draw differences when we “contrast” the same. The literal translation of the word contrast is “as opposed to” or “unlike”.
  2. ‘Compare’ draws parallels between two situations. While ‘contrast’ draws differences between the two situations.
  3. The verb form of ‘compare’ is comparing, In comparison to, etc. The verb form of ‘contrast’ is contrary to, In contrast with, etc.
  4. Example of ‘compare’: “To compare is to weigh the consequences”. Example of ‘contrast’: “To contrast is to underline the differences”.
  5. Synonyms for the verb form of “comparing”: Weighing, matching, conduct, etc. Synonyms for verb form of “contrast”: To juxtapose, unlike, as opposed to, etc.

Difference Between Compare and Contrast


References

  1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8683.2004.00389.x
  2. https://www.aaai.org/Library/AAAI/1987/aaai87-049.php

Emma Smith 200x200 1

Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.

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