COMPARISON

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does comparison mean? 

• COMPARISON (noun)
  The noun COMPARISON has 3 senses:

1. the act of examining resemblances

2. relation based on similarities and differences

3. qualities that are comparable

  Familiarity information: COMPARISON used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMPARISON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of examining resemblances

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

comparing; comparison

Context example:

the fractions selected for comparison must require pupils to consider both numerator and denominator

Hypernyms ("comparison" is a kind of...):

examination; scrutiny (the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "comparison"):

likening (the act of comparing similarities)

analogy (drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect)

collation (careful examination and comparison to note points of disagreement)

confrontation (a focussed comparison; bringing together for a careful comparison)

contrast (the act of distinguishing by comparing differences)

Derivation:

compare (examine and note the similarities or differences of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Relation based on similarities and differences

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Hypernyms ("comparison" is a kind of...):

relation (an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "comparison"):

imaginative comparison (the kind of mental comparison that is expressed in similes or metaphors or allegories)

Derivation:

compare (examine and note the similarities or differences of)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Qualities that are comparable

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

comparability; compare; comparison; equivalence

Context example:

beyond compare

Hypernyms ("comparison" is a kind of...):

alikeness; likeness; similitude (similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things)

Derivation:

compare (consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous)

 Context examples 

The light—for I call them, in comparison with such sentiments, the light—inclinations of very young people, pursued Miss Lavinia, are dust, compared to rocks.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The creatures that lived there were huge in comparison to their modern counterparts.

(Ancient Saharan seaway illustrates how Earth’s climate and creatures can undergo extreme change, National Science Foundation)

By comparison, a hot day on the surface of Mercury (which takes 88 days to orbit the Sun) reaches about 800 degrees Fahrenheit (430 degrees Celsius).

(Cooking up Alien Atmospheres on Earth, NASA)

Gravity-science data from the flyby will improve scientists' knowledge of the moon's internal structure and allow comparisons to Saturn's other moons.

(Cassini to Make Last Close Flyby of Saturn Moon Dione, NASA)

Again Ruth measured his thoughts by comparison of externals and in accordance with her belief in the established.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

By comparison, ground squirrel ROS levels remained relatively low and their microtubules remained intact.

(Researchers develop “hibernation in a dish” to study how animals adapt to the cold, National Institutes of Health)

In comparison, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium levels dropped, and the number of Proteobacteria went up as worker bees aged.

(Species Shifts in the Honey Bee Microbiome Differ with Age and Hive Role, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

And so do I. No comparison.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

A type of class comparison used when more than two classes are present in which each class is compared individually to each of the other classes.

(All-Pairs Comparison, NCI Thesaurus)

An initial measurement that is taken at an early time point to represent a beginning condition, and is used for comparison over time to look for changes.

(Baseline, NCI Dictionary)