comparison

noun

com·​par·​i·​son kəm-ˈper-ə-sən 

-ˈpa-rə-

1

: the act or process of comparing: such as

a

: the representing of one thing or person as similar to or like another

His poetry invites comparison with the poems of Robert Frost.

b

: an examination of two or more items to establish similarities and dissimilarities

His faults seem minor by comparison.

a comparison of the sports cars

2

: identity of features : similarity

several points of comparison between the two

3

: the modification of an adjective or adverb to denote different levels of quality, quantity, or relation

Examples of comparison in a Sentence

a comparison of the data from the two studies

the comparison of monkeys to humans

I don't think comparisons of her situation and mine are appropriate.

Recent Examples on the Web

The leggings were still wet, heavily soiled, and badly deteriorated, LaHendro testified, making the edge detail too unreliable for comparison. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 24 July 2026

For comparison, Uber raised about $15 billion over years and finally started to make a profit. — Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 24 July 2026

And ultimately Munoz will be the happiest of all Liverpool’s World Cup players, especially in comparison to Alexis MacAllister, whose Argentina were the losing side in that final. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 24 July 2026

Freshdesk Service and Zendesk for Employee Service, respectively, support around 450 and 1,600 integrations, for comparison. — John Brandon, PC Magazine, 24 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French comparison, from Latin comparation-, comparatio, from comparare — see compare entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing comparison

• by/in comparison
• comparison shop
• draw a comparison
• evokes/invites comparison with
• make a comparison
• no comparison
• pale by comparison
• pale in/by comparison to/with
• stands/bears comparison

Rhymes for comparison

• intercomparison

Kids Definition

comparison

noun

com·​par·​i·​son kəm-ˈpar-ə-sən 

1

: the act of comparing : the state of being compared

2

: change in the form of an adjective or an adverb (as by having -er or -est added or more or most prefixed) to show different levels of quality, quantity, or relation