as in discriminatory
favoring, applying, or being unequal treatment of different classes of people
did away with differential pay scales for men and women doing the same work
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Recent Examples of differential
Zeroing in on this specific type of differential exposure within a family has limits, such as excluding families with a single child.
—
O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 16 Jan. 2026
The transfer case is a separate component and is different than differential service.
—John Paul, The Providence Journal, 9 Jan. 2026
The Jets’ 3-14 season that ended Sunday served up new levels of dysfunction — last-place finishes in point differential, turnover differential and yardage differential.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
This kind of differential gene expression is central to some of biology’s greatest wonders — for example, the fact that all cells in the human body have the same DNA, and yet brain cells differ dramatically from liver, skin and blood cells.
—Ivan Amato, Quanta Magazine, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for differential
O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 16 Jan. 2026
The transfer case is a separate component and is different than differential service.
—John Paul, The Providence Journal, 9 Jan. 2026
The Jets’ 3-14 season that ended Sunday served up new levels of dysfunction — last-place finishes in point differential, turnover differential and yardage differential.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
This kind of differential gene expression is central to some of biology’s greatest wonders — for example, the fact that all cells in the human body have the same DNA, and yet brain cells differ dramatically from liver, skin and blood cells.
—Ivan Amato, Quanta Magazine, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for differential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for differential
Adjective
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Yolo County officials have identified and modified more than 1,100 historic property records containing discriminatory covenants, some dating back more than a century.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
8 Mar. 2026
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According to court filings, the hospital at the time had a policy of telling patients who made discriminatory requests they could not be honored.—
William Morris,
Des Moines Register,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The probes, which will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, aim to identify unfair trade practices, particularly structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
12 Mar. 2026
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The company was also accused of fabricating unfair charges when renters moved out, resulting in consumers paying improper fees for normal wear-and-tear, damage that happened before move-in and renovations.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Differential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/differential. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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