different
‘different’
If one thing is different from another, it is unlike the other thing in some way.
The meeting was different from any that had gone before.
Health is different from physical fitness.
Many British people say that one thing is different to another. Different to means the same as different from.
My methods are totally different to his.
Be careful
Some people object to this use. In conversation and informal writing, you can use either different from or different to, but in formal writing it is better to use different from.
Some people object to this use. In conversation and informal writing, you can use either different from or different to, but in formal writing it is better to use different from.
In American English, you can say that one thing is different than another. This use is often considered incorrect in British English, but it is sometimes the simplest possibility when the comparison involves a clause.
I am no different than I was 50 years ago.
‘very different’
If there is a great difference between two things, you can say that one thing is very different from the other.
The firm is now very different from the way it was ten years ago.
Be careful
Don't say that one thing is ‘much different’ from another.
Don't say that one thing is ‘much different’ from another.
If two things are quite similar, you can say that one thing is not very different from the other or not much different from the other.
I discovered that things were not very different from what I had seen in New York.
The new model is not much different from the old one.
‘no different’
If two things are alike, you can say that one thing is no different from the other.
He was no different from any other child his age.
Be careful
Don't say that one thing is ‘not different’ from another.
Don't say that one thing is ‘not different’ from another.