differential

adjective

dif·fer·en·tial | \ˌdi-fə-ˈren(t)-shəl

Definition of differential

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : of, relating to, or constituting a difference : distinguishing differential characteristics

b : making a distinction between individuals or classes differential tax rates

c : based on or resulting from a differential

d : functioning or proceeding differently or at a different rate differential melting

2 mathematics : being, relating to, or involving a differential (see differential entry 2 sense 1) or differentiation

3 physics

a : relating to quantitative differences (as of motion or pressure)

b : producing effects by reason of quantitative differences

differential

noun

Definition of differential (Entry 2 of 2)

1 mathematics

a : the product (see product sense 1) of the derivative of a function of one variable by the increment of the independent variable

b : a sum of products in which each product consists of a partial derivative of a given function of several variables multiplied by the corresponding increment and which contains as many products as there are independent variables in the function

2 : a difference between comparable individuals or classes a price differential also : the amount of such a difference

3a : a drivetrain gear assembly connecting two collinear shafts or axles (such as those of the rear wheels of an automobile) and permitting one shaft to revolve faster than the other a locking rear differential

b : a case covering such an assembly

Other Words from differential Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about differential

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Synonyms & Antonyms for differential

Synonyms: Adjective

discriminating, discriminational, discriminative, discriminatory

Antonyms: Adjective

nondiscriminatory

Examples of differential in a Sentence

Adjective

did away with differential pay scales for men and women doing the same work

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Last year, 19 percent of companies that went public on US exchanges had at least two classes of stock with differential voting rights. — Emily Stewart, Vox, "Mark Zuckerberg is essentially untouchable at Facebook," 21 Nov. 2018 The city has tried differential pay plans before in schools. — Leslie Brody, WSJ, "NYC and Teachers Union Reach Tentative $2.1 Billion Deal," 11 Oct. 2018 It’s based on a technique called differential privacy, designed to protect individuals’ identity even when data allegedly has been anonymized. — Tom Simonite, WIRED, "How a Startup Is Using the Blockchain to Protect Your Privacy," 11 July 2018 Even if Denmark were to lose, Australia would need to win and make up a goal-differential edge of three in order to unseat Christian Eriksen & Co. for second place. — Charlotte Carroll, SI.com, "How to Watch Denmark vs. France: World Cup Live Stream, TV Channel," 26 June 2018 That's very differential than the attacks on Melania Trump reading a book to kids, English is her fifth language. — Fox News, "Gorka: Instead of learning from 2016, the press doubled down," 6 Apr. 2018 With regard to the testing for discrimination against persons with disabilities, three of the 20 tests, or 15 percent, showed differential treatment against the person and his or her need of a reasonable accommodation. — Dwight Adams, Indianapolis Star, "'Significant' housing discrimination found in Marion County, study says," 5 Apr. 2018 Suddenly, both Dre and Bow are confronted with their own double standards about the differential treatment of their son and daughter. — refinery29.com, "Black-ish Went To The Sunken Place Last Night For A Different Reason," 14 Mar. 2018 Consumers intuitively understand differential pricing. — John Rennie Short, Smithsonian, "Should U.S. Cities Use Congestion Pricing To Ease Traffic?," 8 Feb. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

This differential is largely caused by the sharp increase in numbers of men not living with minor children. — Andrew L. Yarrow, Vox, "I spoke to hundreds of American men who still can’t find work," 15 Sep. 2018 When a patient comes to see you in the office, there’s a big power differential and people are afraid. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "The internet’s favorite Goop critic Dr. Jen Gunter says ‘medical conspiracy theories’ are running amok online," 20 Aug. 2018 All came in close extra-inning games, without a run differential as big as this one’s, after all other bullpen options had been exhausted. — Emma Baccellieri, SI.com, "The Rays and Marlins Played An Incredibly Strange Game on Tuesday Night," 4 July 2018 Russia had the third-greatest upset by differential since the FIFA rankings started in 1992, behind Nigeria's win over France in 1998 and South Africa's victory over France in 2010, both in the group stage. — Ronald Blum, chicagotribune.com, "'Tiki-taka' generation ends as Spain leave the World Cup," 1 July 2018 But the Angels last decade repeatedly showed how to win despite a modest run differential: with a good but not deep bullpen, and with winning the close games and losing the blowouts. — Bill Shaikin, latimes.com, "Three up, three down: Paul Goldschmidt has awoken; all six division winners could repeat," 16 June 2018 Researchers are developing innovative technical approaches like differential privacy, which offers protection against a wide range of potential privacy violations, including types of attacks currently unknown or unforeseen. — BostonGlobe.com, "What Facebook can learn from academia about protecting privacy," 15 June 2018 The average base wage for workers represented by CCPOA in 2015 was $76,000, although correctional officers can earn more money through overtime and shift differentials. — Adam Ashton, sacbee, "On his way out, Gov. Jerry Brown offers prison guards a big raise | The Sacramento Bee," 21 May 2018 In elections that cover multiple counties, like the Ohio 12th special, an automatic recount is triggered by the secretary of state when the vote differential is equal to or less than 0.5 percent. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "Ohio election recount rules, explained," 8 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'differential.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.