as in discriminatory
favoring, applying, or being unequal treatment of different classes of people
did away with differential pay scales for men and women doing the same work
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Recent Examples of differential
Zeroing in on this specific type of differential exposure within a family has limits, such as excluding families with a single child.
—
O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 16 Jan. 2026
The transfer case is a separate component and is different than differential service.
—John Paul, The Providence Journal, 9 Jan. 2026
The Jets’ 3-14 season that ended Sunday served up new levels of dysfunction — last-place finishes in point differential, turnover differential and yardage differential.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
This kind of differential gene expression is central to some of biology’s greatest wonders — for example, the fact that all cells in the human body have the same DNA, and yet brain cells differ dramatically from liver, skin and blood cells.
—Ivan Amato, Quanta Magazine, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for differential
O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 16 Jan. 2026
The transfer case is a separate component and is different than differential service.
—John Paul, The Providence Journal, 9 Jan. 2026
The Jets’ 3-14 season that ended Sunday served up new levels of dysfunction — last-place finishes in point differential, turnover differential and yardage differential.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
This kind of differential gene expression is central to some of biology’s greatest wonders — for example, the fact that all cells in the human body have the same DNA, and yet brain cells differ dramatically from liver, skin and blood cells.
—Ivan Amato, Quanta Magazine, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for differential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for differential
Adjective
-
Some of these laboratories had proudly discriminatory, uh, hiring practices.—
Natalia Sánchez Loayza,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
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In a statement released Monday, Ovidia Molina, president of the Texas State Teachers Association, called the program expensive and discriminatory.—
Silas Allen,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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These fears are well-founded, as authorities have previously executed many protesters following grossly unfair trials, while many others remain on death row.—
Hamid Kashani,
Twin Cities,
5 Feb. 2026
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And the company has committed a host of unfair labor practices, including firing a member of the bargaining committee, punishing a worker for filing a grievance against management and making changes to working conditions without giving the union notice, UFCW officials alleged.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Differential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/differential. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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