comparison

UK: /kəmˈpærɪsən/ US: /kəmˈpærəsən/ ,(kəm par′ə sən)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

com•par•i•son /kəmˈpærəsən/   n. 

1. the act of comparing:
   [countable] A comparison between our two countries shows some important differences.
   [uncountable* in/by + ~]
   In comparison with some other countries, the cost of food in the U.S. is low.
2. a likeness;
   similarity;
   capability of being compared:
   [uncountable] There is simply no comparison between your work and hers.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

com•par•i•son  (kəm par′ə sən), n. 

1. the act of comparing.
2. the state of being compared.
3. a likening;
   illustration by similitude;
   comparative estimate or statement.
4. Rhetoric the considering of two things with regard to some characteristic that is common to both, as the likening of a hero to a lion in courage.
5. capability of being compared or likened.
6. Grammar
   • the function of an adverb or adjective that is used to indicate degrees of superiority or inferiority in quality, quantity, or intensity.
   • the patterns of formation involved therein.
   • the degrees of a particular word, displayed in a fixed order, as mild, milder, mildest, less mild, least mild.

• Latin comparātiōn- (stem of comparātiō). See compare, -ation
• Old French comparaison
• Middle English comparesoun 1300–50

Synonyms

• 5. likeness, resemblance, similarity.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

comparison / kəmˈpærɪs^ən/ noun

1. the act or process of comparing
2. the state of being compared
3. comparable quality or qualities; likeness: there was no comparison between them
4. a rhetorical device involving comparison, such as a simile
5. Also called: degrees of comparison the listing of the positive, comparative, and superlative forms of an adjective or adverb
6. bear comparison, stand comparison ⇒ to be sufficiently similar in class or range to be compared with (something else), esp favourably