discrepancy
noun
dis·crep·an·cy
di-ˈskre-pən-sē 
plural discrepancies
1
: the quality or state of disagreeing or being at variance
2
: an instance of disagreeing or being at variance
Examples of discrepancy in a Sentence
Dr. Derman, who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs and became managing director, was a forerunner of the many physicists and other scientists who have flooded Wall Street in recent years, moving from a world in which a discrepancy of a few percentage points in a measurement can mean a Nobel Prize or unending mockery to a world in which a few percent one way can land you in jail and a few percent the other way can win you your own private Caribbean island.
—
Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2009
Why the difference? Why are some individuals so outwardly altered by time and others not? Or, in other words, why is there often a discrepancy between chronological age and biological age?
—Time, 17 Oct. 2005
If an article is on one machine but not the other, a copy is made to eliminate the discrepancy.
—Simson Garfinkel, Technology Review, November 2001
The discrepancy can't be written off simply as lack of data, because it shows up in one of the best-studied periods in Earth's history …
—Tim Appenzeller, Science, 12 Feb. 1993
Discrepancies in the firm's financial statements led to an investigation.
There were discrepancies between their accounts of the accident.
Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2009
Why the difference? Why are some individuals so outwardly altered by time and others not? Or, in other words, why is there often a discrepancy between chronological age and biological age?
—Time, 17 Oct. 2005
If an article is on one machine but not the other, a copy is made to eliminate the discrepancy.
—Simson Garfinkel, Technology Review, November 2001
The discrepancy can't be written off simply as lack of data, because it shows up in one of the best-studied periods in Earth's history …
—Tim Appenzeller, Science, 12 Feb. 1993
Discrepancies in the firm's financial statements led to an investigation.
There were discrepancies between their accounts of the accident.
Recent Examples on the Web
Any discrepancy between your medical records and the police report can trigger an investigation, delaying critical wage replacement payments.
—Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 11 May 2026
The researchers’ conclusion was that the problem is rarely the discrepancy itself.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
Losing it 56-30 is not the discrepancy the Sixers should accept.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 7 May 2026
However, discrepancy is understandable due to the carcass coming ashore deflated, like a big creepy balloon with the air let out.
—Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for discrepancy
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Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 11 May 2026
The researchers’ conclusion was that the problem is rarely the discrepancy itself.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
Losing it 56-30 is not the discrepancy the Sixers should accept.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 7 May 2026
However, discrepancy is understandable due to the carcass coming ashore deflated, like a big creepy balloon with the air let out.
—Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for discrepancy
Cite this Entry
“Discrepancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discrepancy. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
discrepancy
noun
dis·crep·an·cy
dis-ˈkrep-ən-sē
plural discrepancies
1
: the quality or state of being different : disagreement
a great discrepancy between the two reports
2
: something that is different or that disagrees
discrepancies in the firm's financial statements
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