disparity

noun

dis·​par·​i·​ty di-ˈsper-ə-tē 

-ˈspa-rə-

plural disparities

: a noticeable and usually significant difference or dissimilarity

economic/income disparities

The fact is that America's colleges … have lately been exacerbating more than ameliorating the widening disparity of wealth and opportunity in American society.

—Andrew Delbanco

… in no other composer is the disparity between the man and his work so immense. Bach's life is considered stupefyingly ordinary, but his music is divine …

—Edward Rothstein

Did you know?

Disparity contains the Latin dis, meaning "apart" or "non-", so a disparity is a kind of "nonequality". The word is often used to describe a social or economic condition that's considered unfairly unequal: a racial disparity in hiring, a health disparity between the rich and the poor, an income disparity between men and women, and so on. Its adjective, disparate (accented on the first syllable), is often used to emphasize strong differences.

Synonyms of disparity

• difference
• distinctiveness
• distinctness
• diversity
• contrast
• distinction

Examples of disparity in a Sentence

an enormous disparity in the lives of the rich and the poor in that country

Recent Examples on the Web

The foundation has extended grant funding to both Pennington and Minnehaha Counties in the past for programs aimed at reducing their jail populations and addressing racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system. —John Hult, States Newsroom, 27 Jan. 2026

Then there’s the inexplicably enormous disparity between the Higgs boson’s mass (which sets the physical scale of atoms) and the far higher mass-energy scale associated with quantum gravity, known as the Planck scale. —Quanta Magazine, 26 Jan. 2026

While there are reasons behind these disparities, my goal is to advocate for Hamilton to be funded at levels comparable to other high-performing districts without an increase in taxes. —Alec Johnson, jsonline.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Randolph said then that the agency, known by the acronym CARB, calculates impacts to health and health disparities in certain communities but not the retail costs to consumers. —Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 26 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Late Latin; Middle French disparité, borrowed from Late Latin disparitāt-, disparitās, from Latin dispar-, dispār "unequal, different" (from dis- dis- + par-, pār "matching, equal," of uncertain origin) + -itāt-, -itās -ity

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disparity

• alterity
• asperity
• austerity
• celerity
• dexterity
• hilarity
• molarity
• planarity
• polarity
• posterity
• prosperity
• severity

Medical Definition

disparity

noun

dis·​par·​i·​ty dis-ˈpar-ət-ē 

plural disparities

: the state of being different or dissimilar (as in the sensory information received) see retinal disparity