diverse

di·verse

adjective \dī-ˈvərs, də-ˈ, ˈdī-ˌ\

Definition of DIVERSE

1

: differing from one another : unlike <people with diverse interests>

2

: composed of distinct or unlike elements or qualities <a diverse population>

— di·verse·ly adverb

— di·verse·ness noun

Examples of DIVERSE

1. His message appealed to a diverse audience.
2. a diverse group of subjects
3. We can adapt to new problems in ways that other species cannot. It is this ability that enabled our ancestors to spread over the globe, displacing other hominids and many other species along the way. Our cultures and individual behaviors are so successfully diverse that humans are more like an entire ecosystem than a single species. —Barbara Oakley, Evil Genes, (2007) 2008
4. Since the methods and policies of the Spaniards on the edges of empire varied over time and place, and the indigenous tribes and peoples with whom they came into contact were almost endlessly diverse, Weber was faced with the daunting challenge of writing a book that was at the same time comprehensive and comprehensible. —J. H. Elliott, New York Review of Books, 23 Feb. 2006
5. The place is packed at both lunch and dinner. The crowd, always a diverse blend of athletes and fans, cops and criminals, showbiz and fashion, appears as heterogeneous as ever. —Eric Asimov, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2003
6. Many students, from campuses diverse as Bushwick High School in Brooklyn, New York, and Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, had classmates sign cards pledging to vote for “books, not bombs.” —Liza Featherstone, Nation, 4/11 Aug. 2003

Origin of DIVERSE

Middle English divers, diverse, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French divers, from Latin diversus, from past participle of divertere (see divert)

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to DIVERSE

Synonyms

disparate, dissimilar, distant, distinct, distinctive, distinguishable, different, nonidentical, other, unalike, unlike

Antonyms

alike, identical, indistinguishable, kin, kindred, like, parallel, same, similar

Related Words

divers, miscellaneous, mixed, several, sundry, variant, varied, various; differentiable, discriminable; alternate, alternative, individual, particular, peculiar, single; disproportionate, divergent, unequal

Near Antonyms

equal, selfsame; equivalent, tantamount; akin, analogous, comparable, homological, homologous, related; homogeneous, homogenous, uniform

See Synonym Discussion at different

Rhymes with DIVERSE

adverse, amerce, asperse, averse, coerce, commerce, converse, cutpurse, disburse, disperse, dry nurse, free verse, immerse, inverse, Nez Percé, obverse, perverse, rehearse, reverse, scrub nurse, sesterce, submerse, transverse, traverse, wet nurse