Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DISPARATE
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connect this word to others:
Your kid asks what your favorite movie is. You mention Schindler's List and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Your kid says, "Which one is your favorite?"
"Well, I can't say. They're incomparable."
But wait, incomparable describes one thing and means "unable to be compared to anything else because it's so great that it's peerless, it's unmatched, it's unpar____led." But you needed incomparable to describe two things and mean "not able to be compared in a meaningful way."
Enter disparate. It means "unable to be compared: too different, too separate, too unlike to even allow a meaningful comparison."
"They're disparate movies. I can't pick a favorite."
(Yeah, okay, you could have just said "They're too different. I can't pick a favorite." But you want your kid to have an aggressively nuanced vocabulary, right?)
If you look closely at the word disparate, you'll notice its similarity to separate, and in fact both of those words have Latin roots that literally mean "prepared apart." Separate things are different, set apart, distinct. Disparate things are very different, entirely set apart, absolutely distinct. Let's take one more step: dia___ric things are not just very different but utterly opposite, in perfect opposition, placed on opposite poles on a sphere or, more aptly, at opposite ends of a circle.
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make your point with...
"DISPARATE"
Here's the first meaning, the one we use the most. Disparate things are so different from each other that they have nothing in common and cannot be meaningfully compared. They're not opposites, necessarily; they're just fully and totally different.
And here's the second meaning. A disparate thing has parts or pieces that are very different from each other.
Pronunciation:
DISS puh rut
Part of speech:
Adjective: "their disparate upbringings," "this disparate group of friends."
Other forms:
The adverb is "disparately," and the noun is "disparateness." You can also use "disparate" as a countable noun and refer to very different, non-comparable things as "disparates."
Are "disparateness" and "disparity" the same?:
Not exactly. Interestingly, though they share the "dis" prefix, they're based on different Latin roots (respectively, parare, "prepare," and paritas, "equality"). Disparity (or a disparity) is an unfair difference, an unjust imbalance, a lack of equality. It's the opposite of parity: a fair, balanced state of equality between or among things.
But a disparateness is just a difference, one that is so complete that it renders meaningful comparisons impossible.
How to use it:
Talk about disparate images, sounds, styles, worlds, societies, lifestyles, backgrounds, experiences, situations, circumstances, outcomes, impacts, treatment, services, reactions, environments, compilations, combinations, groups of things, groups of people, ideas, topics, goals, visions, interests, approaches to solving a problem, and so on.
Or, more generally, talk about one thing's disparate strands, pieces, sections, aspects, elements, etc.
Or, use the phrase "as disparate as this and that," or "as disparate as this, that, and the other." Let's see some examples: "artists as disparate as Scarface, Uncle Luke, and Young M.A. (The New Yorker)," "sources as disparate as Rolling Stone, Vegetarian Times and Prince's high-school newspaper (Seattle Times)."
examples:
"What Lithuania does offer is a regulatory 'sandbox,' which allows financial technology companies to test products in a limited environment and under supervision. Such sandboxes are not common, but they are cropping up in places as disparate as Arizona and Kuwait."
— Vicky Baker, BBC News, 6 February 2019
"A new book from boundary-transcending cosmologist and writer Paul Davies presents a case that life's defining characteristics can be understood in terms of information. Davies weaves the disparate threads of information theory, James Clerk Maxwell's thought experiments, and extraterrestrial life into a thought-provoking read."
— Flora Graham, Nature, 25 January 2019
has this page helped you understand "disparate"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "disparate" without saying "dissimilar" or "apples and oranges."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "It's a challenge to make sense of _____, with its disparate (parts or aspects)."
Example: "It's a challenge to make sense of the Bible, with its disparate forms, authors, and storylines."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is Distinctive Definitions.
We're taking a scenic slog through poetic and philosophical definitions, wading through similes, metaphors, personifications, hyperboles, grandiloquence, and cheesiness.
In each issue, consider a definition provided by a poet, a writer, or a philosopher, and see if you can name the definiendum: the thing or concept being defined. (Is it life, love, time, death, music, sleep, pain, laughter, bubblegum, stubbing your toe…???) For example, James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) said, "What men call ________ and the Gods call dross." He’s defining something—what is it? "Treasure."
Now, you can play this game in earnest, trying to think of what the poet actually wrote--or you can play it for laughs, supplying the silliest or most sarcastic answer you can muster.
To take the silliness to the next level, gather your friends or family, deal each person a hand of cards from your copy of Apples to Apples (great for kids) or Cards Against Humanity (not for kids!!), and enjoy the ensuing hilarity. (In these games, players take turns being the judge for each round, picking the funniest from everyone’s submissions.) "What men call stretch limos and the Gods call dross." "What men call Morgan Freeman's voice and the Gods call dross."
From the previous issue:
Robert Bulwer-Lytton (1831-1891) said,
"The _____ is a nettle; disturb it, it stings.
Grasp it firmly, it stings not."
Answer: World.
Try this one today:
Theodore Chickering Williams (1855-1915) said,
"_____ is a voyage. The winds of _____ come strong
From every point; yet each will speed thy course along,
If thou with steady hand when tempests blow
Canst keep thy course aright and never once let go."
review this word:
1. One opposite of DISPARATE is
A. OVERJOYED.
B. ANALOGOUS.
C. THAT PARROT.
2. At their core, beneath their superficial similarities and differences, Hermione Granger and Lyra Belacqua are disparate heroes: _____ circles on a Venn diagram.
A. identical
B. overlapping
C. separate
a final word:
Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From Liesl's blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Your kid asks what your favorite movie is. You mention Schindler's List and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
"DISPARATE" Here's the first meaning, the one we use the most. Disparate things are so different from each other that they have nothing in common and cannot be meaningfully compared. They're not opposites, necessarily; they're just fully and totally different.
"What Lithuania does offer is a regulatory 'sandbox,' which allows financial technology companies to test products in a limited environment and under supervision. Such sandboxes are not common, but they are cropping up in places as disparate as Arizona and Kuwait."
Explain the meaning of "disparate" without saying "dissimilar" or "apples and oranges."
Fill in the blanks: "It's a challenge to make sense of _____, with its disparate (parts or aspects)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. One opposite of DISPARATE is
|