disparate

adjective

dis·pa·rate ˈdi-sp(ə-)rət

di-ˈsper-ət,

-ˈspa-rət

Synonyms of disparate

: markedly distinct in quality or character

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

disparately adverb

disparateness noun

Did you know?

If you enjoy sorting different objects into separate categories, you're well prepared to understand the origins of disparate. The word, which first appeared in English in the 16th century, comes from the Latin verb disparāre, meaning "to divide, separate off, make different." Disparāre, in turn, comes from parāre, a verb meaning "to supply, provide, make ready or prepare." Other descendants of parāre in English include both separate and prepare, as well as repair, apparatus, and even the pugnacious vituperate ("to criticize harshly and usually publicly").

Choose the Right Synonym for 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.

different foods

diverse implies both distinctness and marked contrast.

such diverse interests as dancing and football

divergent implies movement away from each other and unlikelihood of ultimate meeting or reconciliation.

went on to pursue divergent careers

disparate emphasizes incongruity or incompatibility.

disparate notions of freedom

various stresses the number of sorts or kinds.

tried various methods

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Whether the ownership groups are as incredible as Freier says or not, what continues to hamper rugby is the game’s disparate nature in the U.S. and abroad. —Vitas Carosella, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025 But Johnson also warned that large fields of candidates seeking a specific office can lead to a nominee achieving far below a majority of votes, forcing them to try to unify a disparate base. —Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025 Named after the fifth Earthsea book but based on plot elements and character moments from the first, third, and fourth novels, Tales From Earthsea gets a little too tripped up mixing and matching disparate references to tell a completely coherent story. —Devan Coggan, EW.com, 1 Aug. 2025 And those disparate facts made no more sense as part of a whole than my own life did. —Meg Pillow july 31, Literary Hub, 31 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for disparate

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of disparate was in 1566

See more words from the same year