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

However, the study noted that even in the US, Black women have a death rate from breast cancer that is 40% higher than that of White women, a disparity that persists despite the country’s world-class treatment infrastructure. —Asuka Koda, CNN Money, 2 Mar. 2026

In a 2010 study, for example, the disparity held in both casual and familiar encounters, with ten per cent of women reaching orgasm versus thirty-one per cent of men in a first-time hookup, and sixty-eight per cent versus eighty-five per cent with a familiar partner. —Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026

This is a self-defeating stance for players, since baseball’s financial disparity at the team level is also mirrored by a huge chasm in compensation for individual players themselves. —Paul Bledsoe, Baltimore Sun, 2 Mar. 2026

Unequal access to screening and appropriate treatment are driving disparities, with inadequate screening leading to later-stage diagnoses that are harder to treat. —Victoria Kusztos, ABC News, 2 Mar. 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