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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of differential
In the 2011 report written before construction of the Porsche Design Tower, Kaderabek engineers made the case for deeper foundations, pointing specifically to the potential risk of differential settlement.
—
Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 1 Dec. 2025
Goals differential isn’t much better – There’s one team in the conference showing double digits on either side of the goals differential column.
—Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Convection within the Sun and the differential rotation of the Sun’s surface warp the coronal magnetic field, as do links to the interplanetary field created by the solar wind.
—Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
The heart of the issue here, Larson said, is that Ramsey County is misguided in seeking to avoid differential treatment for the fair versus other outside organizations, because a county fair fundamentally is different from other outside organizations, legally speaking.
—Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for differential
Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 1 Dec. 2025
Goals differential isn’t much better – There’s one team in the conference showing double digits on either side of the goals differential column.
—Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Convection within the Sun and the differential rotation of the Sun’s surface warp the coronal magnetic field, as do links to the interplanetary field created by the solar wind.
—Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
The heart of the issue here, Larson said, is that Ramsey County is misguided in seeking to avoid differential treatment for the fair versus other outside organizations, because a county fair fundamentally is different from other outside organizations, legally speaking.
—Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for differential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for differential
Adjective
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Indigenous tribes have long used fire to care for the land through cultural burnings, but in the 1800s, that practice was banned by restrictive and discriminatory laws in places like California.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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The independent watchdog said Meta must ensure its ads are non-discriminatory and report back within three months.—
Carlotta Dotto,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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As a result, the tippee has an unfair advantage as measured against the other participants in the capital markets, who do not have access to this material nonpublic information.—
Samidh Guha,
ABC News,
9 Nov. 2025
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In the meantime, the day-to-day work is on us—looking at our money honestly, making strategic moves, and refusing to let an unfair system keep us from building something better for ourselves and the next generation.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Differential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/differential. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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