differentiate

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

Updated on: 25 Apr 2018

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

Mexico’s challenges force the Laboratorio to differentiate itself from its peers.

— julia cooke, Curbed, "How Mexico City’s urban innovation lab tackles the city’s challenges," 18 Apr. 2018
This is one reason that producers like the Sorkins are looking for new ways to differentiate themselves.

— stephanie hanes, The Christian Science Monitor, "Maple syrup inc.: Vermont’s maple syrup tradition goes high tech, high finance," 18 Apr. 2018
Asked about whether the investigation differentiated between old and new brass sales, a spokesperson for the Inspector General's office referred questions Monday to the Sewerage & Water Board and the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office.

— beau evans, NOLA.com, "Sewerage & Water Board employee acquitted of stealing brass faces tough road back to old job," 17 Apr. 2018
Still, one of the biggest challenges for policy makers is how to differentiate between foreign and domestic cars.

— timothy puko, WSJ, "U.S. Looks to Protect Domestic Car Makers From Foreign Competition," 6 Apr. 2018
After that, many generalizations followed: newer versions of the counterfeit coin problem included finding multiple fake coins, differentiating between coins of arbitrary weights, and so on.

— nicholas diaco, Scientific American, "Privacy and Counterfeit Coins," 20 Mar. 2018
Another differentiating aspect is that TV Pete isn’t successful.

— garin pirnia, HWD, "Pete Holmes Took His Broken Heart and Made It into Art," 15 Feb. 2017
But the service has been slow to catch on, and Amazon has had trouble differentiating itself from similar services offered by Handy and TaskRabbit.

— jeff andrews, Curbed, "Amazon is hiring its own cleaners for renewed push into housekeeping," 29 Mar. 2018
Initially certified in 2001, Mobil Steel completed a diligent re-certification process in 2006 to demonstrate its commitment to quality and to differentiate itself in the steel fabrication industry.

— staff report, Houston Chronicle, "Mobil Steel achieves quality fabrication standard," 27 Mar. 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.