- (transitive)
to serve to distinguish between - when intr, often followed by between:
to perceive, show, or make a difference (in or between); discriminate - (intransitive)
to become dissimilar or distinct to perform a differentiation on (a quantity, expression, etc) - (intransitive)
(of unspecialized cells, etc) to change during development to more specialized forms
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
dif•fer•en•ti•ate /ˌdɪfəˈrɛnʃiˌeɪt/USA pronunciation
v., -at•ed, -at•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- to form or mark differently from other such things; distinguish:[~ + object + from + object]The chrome trim and tinted glass differentiate the high-price model from the standard one.
- to see, understand, recognize, or perceive the difference in or between: [~ + between]learned to differentiate between French and German wines.[~ + object + from + object]learned to differentiate a French wine from a German wine.
dif•fer•en•ti•ate
(dif′ə ren′shē āt′),USA pronunciation v., -at•ed, -at•ing.
v.t.
v.i.
v.t.
- to form or mark differently from other such things;
distinguish. - to change;
alter. - to perceive the difference in or between.
- to make different by modification, as a biological species.
- Mathematicsto obtain the differential or the derivative of.
v.i.
- to become unlike or dissimilar;
change in character. - to make a distinction.
- [Biol.](of cells or tissues) to change from relatively generalized to specialized kinds, during development.
- Medieval Latin differentiātus distinguished (past participle of differentiāre), equivalent. to Latin different(ia) difference + -ātus -ate1
- 1810–20
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged set off. See distinguish.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged separate.
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