differentiate

verb dif·fer·en·ti·ate \ ˌdif-ə-ˈren(t)-shē-ˌāt \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Examples: differentiate in a Sentence

Definition of differentiate

differentiated; differentiating

transitive verb

1 mathematics : to obtain the mathematical derivative (see ¹derivative 3) of

2 : to mark or show a difference in : constitute a contrasting element that distinguishes

features that differentiate the twins

how we differentiate ourselves from our competitors

3 : to develop differential or distinguishing characteristics in

What differentiated a laborer from another man …
—Sherwood Anderson

4 biology : to cause differentiation (see differentiation 3b) of in the course of development

cells that are differentiated from stem cells

5 : to express the specific distinguishing quality of : discriminate

differentiate poetry and prose

intransitive verb

1 : to recognize or give expression to a difference

difficult to differentiate between the two

2 : to become distinct or different in character

3 biology : to undergo differentiation (see differentiation 3b)

when the cells begin to differentiate

—

differentiability

play \-ˌren(t)-sh(ē-)ə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

—

differentiable

play \-ˈren(t)-sh(ē-)ə-bəl\ adjective

See differentiate defined for English-language learners

See differentiate defined for kids

Examples of differentiate in a Sentence

The only thing that differentiates the twins is the color of their eyes.
it was hard at first to differentiate between the two styles of music

Recent Examples of differentiate from the Web

Some qualifiers are in order to differentiate how the Mighty Ducks and Golden Knights were assembled.

— curtis zupke, latimes.com, "As the expansion Golden Knights pursue the Stanley Cup, the expansion Mighty Ducks remember their goal: to survive," 31 May 2018
That would be a shift from the current rule which sets rigid standards that do not differentiate between trading desks that serve different assets, like corporate bonds and derivatives.

— emily flitter and alan rappeport, BostonGlobe.com, "Big banks to get reprieve from Volcker Rule," 31 May 2018
The more characteristic symptoms that differentiate a wheat allergy from CD and NCGS include swelling or itching of the mouth, throat, or nose; an itchy rash; hives; a headache; and trouble breathing.

— carolyn todd, Allure, "How to Tell If You Have Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity," 21 May 2018
The collaborators, including Northwestern's Dr. Ben Katz, a professor of pediatrics, will use blood samples to continue looking for biomarkers to help differentiate between the ME group and healthy control subjects.

— megan doherty, Chicago Reader, "ME myalgic encephalomyelitis chronic fatigue syndrome CFS Millions Missing Depaul University CDC," 10 May 2018
In order to differentiate persistent depressive disorder from major depressive disorder, let’s first go over what constitutes a diagnosis of major depressive disorder.

— christina stiehl, SELF, "The Difference Between Depression and Persistent Depressive Disorder, aka Dysthymia," 4 May 2018
And that’s going to be — for lack of a better word — unfair to Langford. One will have to differentiate between Romeo the young man and Romeo the basketball player.

— gentry estes, The Courier-Journal, "A plea for patience, whether New Albany star Romeo Langford chooses Indiana or not," 29 Apr. 2018
The games will be produced by the MLB Network for Facebook Watch, with interactive and social elements that differentiate them from live streaming.

— NBC News, "Facebook acquires exclusive rights to 25 Major League Baseball games," 9 Mar. 2018
With 70 million users, Spotify is the world's largest largest music streaming service and this new programming can be seen as an effort to differentiate itself from competitors such as Apple Music.

— regina cho, Billboard, "Spotify Adding Visual Elements to Podcasts & More Audio Content With New Spotlight Multimedia Format," 18 Jan. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of differentiate

probably borrowed from Medieval Latin differentiātus, past participle of differentiāre "to distinguish" (New Latin in mathematical sense), verbal derivative of Latin differentia ¹difference

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1814

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year