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differentness

differentness

1 6.3
The fact that two things are not the same
  • noun
  • /ˈdɪfərəntnəs/
translation icon : diferencia
  • Living in a big city allowed her to embrace her sense of differentness, which she had always tried to hide.

Examples

  • I don't stand out so much, but I am keenly aware of my "differentness."

    Blog text (24)
  • The idea of your own inner sovereignty, and the feeling of apartness, that I think stems from a history of differentness.

  • Does the relationship with teachers exacerbate feelings of differentness from other students?

    Academic text (1993)
  • This sense of his own differentness, his separateness, was very strong in Jeremy.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Groups have a sense of differentness from the population, based on a salient and socially important characteristic.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The more closely associated with social events, the less likely subjects were to indicate perceptions of differentness.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Differentness within the family is covered up by including, as already noted, other kin and neighbors.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Whatever differentness I felt, I would have suppressed for fear of ostracism and, more generally, of being isolated from others.

    Academic text (2002)
  • I'll miss the differentness of Ethiopia—the food, the music, the sounds, the smells.

    Blog text (7)
  • Diagnosis may intensify both the "groupness" and the "differentness" aspects governing public perceptions of people with mental illness.

    Academic text (2007)

Synonyms

variation
vsdifferentness
77 3.3

A different form of something, like a design or recipe

is the quality of not matching rather than a single alternate form
individuality
vsdifferentness
39 4.6

Qualities that make someone or something different from others

is the simple state of not matching rather than personal uniqueness
otherness
vsdifferentness
  • Jargon
6 8.0

Being seen as different from most people or from what is usual

is the general quality of not matching rather than cultural or familiar contrast
distinctiveness
vsdifferentness
4 6.0

A quality that makes someone or something stand out from others

is the overall quality of not matching, not only a single trait
dissimilarity
vsdifferentness
3 4.5

A state when two things or people are not alike

is the broad term for the general state of not being the same
separateness
vsdifferentness
2 6.6

A situation where things are kept apart from others, for example work and personal life

is the general condition of not matching rather than mere spatial separation
alterity
vsdifferentness
  • Formal
1 9.9

A state of being different from others, often in culture or identity

is the broad quality of not matching across things, not only cultural difference
distinctness
vsdifferentness
1 5.6

Being clearly different from others

is the general state of not matching rather than emphasising clarity
dissimilitude
vsdifferentness
9.9

A clear difference between two or more things

is the general quality of not being the same across things
unlikeness
vsdifferentness
7.1

Not being the same as another thing

is the basic state of not sharing the same features
unsimilarity
vsdifferentness
9.0

A difference that shows two or more things are not the same

is the overall quality of not having identical characteristics
disparateness
vsdifferentness
9.2

A big difference between things that are not similar

is the general state of not being the same rather than extreme nonmatch
contrastiveness
vsdifferentness
7.5

How different two things are when you compare them

is the basic quality itself rather than the amount seen in comparison
variousness
vsdifferentness
5.3

The state of having many different kinds of people or things

is the single quality of not matching rather than variety or plurality
variedness
vsdifferentness
6.3

A state with many different kinds of things

is the basic state of not matching rather than internal variety

Antonyms

10 4.2

A lack of change or variety in daily life

How Different

distinctness
1 5.6
differentness
1 6.3
otherness
  • Jargon
6 8.0

Surface Forms

differentness singular

Morphology

differentness = different (transparent) = different + ness

Formed by the adjective 'different' plus the nominalizing suffix '-ness', yielding the straightforward meaning 'the quality of being different'.

Etymology

Differentness is built from different and the ending -ness, where -ness means 'state' or 'quality'. Because different comes from older words meaning 'not the same', differentness means the 'state of being not the same', which is why we use it to talk about how things or people are unlike each other.