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comparability

comparability

1 5.8
How similar two or more things are so you can look at them together
  • noun
  • /kəmˈpærəˌbɪlɪti/
translation icon : comparabilidad
  • For research purposes, two criteria were added to ensure comparability between groups.
  • ensure comparability
  • enhance comparability
  • degree of comparability

Examples

  • For a fair evaluation, the comparability of test results across different schools must be ensured.

  • The key conclusion that emerged from these studies is that comparability between nations is extremely difficult to achieve.

    Academic text (1997)
  • In these circumstances, it hardly seems to matter that comparability is under threat.

    Academic text (1998)
  • You also have comparability problems, and you have all sorts of other issues.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Important environmental policy initiatives, like comparability of emissions standards, have been put off to another day.

    Academic text (2001)
  • We addressed this possibility by creating an index of economic comparability for each decade.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Also, efforts were made to survey the same schools across years, thereby enabling sample comparability.

    Academic text (2013)
  • First, they should be valid and reliable so that the information derived has credibility and comparability.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Temperature manipulations have mainly been focused only on warming, resulting in better comparability among studies.

    Academic text (2013)
  • International standardized protocols are needed to enhance comparability and increase the usefulness of this promising tissue in biomonitoring studies.

    Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

comparison
vscomparability
145 1.2

Being similar enough that you can judge how they differ

is the underlying quality that enables such judgement rather than the fact
commensurability
vscomparability
9.9

When two things can be measured by the same scale so you can compare them

is about general similarity and does not require a common measurement scale

Antonyms

A situation when things cannot be compared because they are very different

How Comparable

equivalence
18 6.2
comparability
1 5.8
similarity
157 2.7

Surface Forms

comparability singular

Morphology

comparability = comparable (transparent) = compare + able + ity

Standard formation by adding '-ity' to the adjective 'comparable'; the relation to 'compare' via 'comparable' is clear to learners.

Etymology

The word comparability comes from compare, built from parts com- meaning 'together' and par meaning 'equal', plus the ending -ability meaning 'can be'. So comparability is how much things are similar enough to be looked at 'together' and compared.