disparate

adjective dis·pa·rate \ ˈdis-p(ə-)rət , di-ˈsper-ət , -ˈspa-rət \

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: disparate in a Sentence

Definition of disparate

1 : markedly distinct in quality or character

2 : containing or made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements

—

disparately

adverb

—

disparateness

noun

—

disparity

play \di-ˈsper-ə-tē, -ˈspa-rə-\ noun

See disparate defined for English-language learners

See disparate defined for kids

disparate was our Word of the Day on 09/27/2017. Hear the podcast!

Examples of disparate in a Sentence

First during the nineteen-seventies, but with increasing momentum during the eighties, a loose community of physics researchers had begun to postulate that the disparate small particles that we learned about in high-school science class—electrons, for instance—were actually the varied vibrations of tiny open and closed looped strings. —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 21 July 2008
The American border with Mexico is among the most economically disparate intersections in the world, but the cities on either side of the port looked almost identical—a spread of humble brick and cinder-block homes dotting a blanket of brown hills. —Cecilia Balli, Harper's, October 2006
I made the French lemon cream tart that Greenspan credits to Hermé and got disparate reactions. An American friend loved its creaminess and felt it had a comfortingly familiar texture; a British friend … said he missed the traditional sharp, gel-like custard. —Tamasin Day-Lewis, Saveur, November 2006
Like these imagined cities, identical twins are identical only in their blueprints. By the time they are born, they are already disparate in countless neurological and physiological ways that mostly we cannot see. —Frank J. Sulloway, New York Review, 30 Nov. 2006
The plan, as near as anybody outside Yahoo can make out, is to stitch all those disparate organizations into one huge Frankenstein's monster of a search engine that will strike terror into the hearts of all who behold it. —Lev Grossman, Time, 22 Dec. 2003
disparate notions among adults and adolescents about when middle age begins

Recent Examples of disparate from the Web

Ideas about what should be done were disparate, including such proposals as creating property rights for data and treating social media as a public-health problem because of their addictive qualities.

— The Economist, "A new school in ChicagoHow regulators can prevent excessive concentration online," 28 June 2018
But these seemingly disparate literary and journalistic strands are also occasionally reconciled.

— annika neklason, The Atlantic, "160 Years of the American Idea," 27 June 2018
Homeless people, especially the chronically homeless, experience health problems as disparate as tooth infections and eye problems, trench foot, and body lice up through infectious diseases like tuberculosis and hepatitis A.

— adam rogers, WIRED, "Big Tech Isn’t the Problem With Homelessness. It’s All of Us," 21 June 2018
Setting them up was like making two calls, one on a rotary phone and another on an iPhone: fundamentally the same experience yet wildly disparate in terms of refinement.

— Outside Online, "Riding 100 Miles* on a 102-Year-Old Bike," 12 June 2018
Hallelujah Nights is a sprawling collection of stadium rock, bluesy country and intimate singer-songwriter pop that showcases the band’s disparate musical influences, all tied together by Lancaster’s voice.

— jonathan bernstein, Billboard, "Why LANCO Will Have A Mainstream Breakthrough With Debut LP 'Hallelujah Nights'," 9 Jan. 2018
These things do not help, but the uncomfortable truth is that in low-turnout electoral politics, a smaller, cohesive, motivated group can go on outvoting a larger, disparate, apathetic group for a long time.

— The Economist, "Demography is not destinyBuilding a multiracial coalition is more difficult than it seems," 12 July 2018
But only when the disparate parts are brought together does the full measure of joy and musical acumen materialize.

— randy lewis, latimes.com, "The American ideal in music for July 4? Think Preservation Hall in New Orleans," 4 July 2018
When France won the World Cup in 1998, led by Zinedine Zidane, the son of Algerian immigrants, the team was lauded for being a vision of the new France and bringing disparate parts of the country’s population together.

— ann killion, SFChronicle.com, "Shut up and dribble? Not in basketball. Certainly not in soccer," 25 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of disparate

borrowed from Latin disparātus "separate, distinct," from past participle of disparāre "to divide, separate off, make different," from dis- dis- + parāre "to supply, provide, make ready" (influenced in sense by association with dispar-, dispār "unequal, different") — more at pare

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1566

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

disparate Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of disparate

different, diverse, divergent, disparate, various mean unlike in kind or character. different may imply little more than separateness but it may also imply contrast or contrariness.