different
/ˈdɪfərənt/
Reviewed on
Type
Adjective
Meaning
Not the same as another person or thing.
My sister and I look alike, but our personalities are very different.
Separate or distinct; used to talk about several individual people or things.
We visited four different stores before we found the right shoes.
Unusual or new in a way that is interesting or surprising.
Let's try something different for dinner tonight instead of pasta.
How it's used
When this means “used before the thing being compared; the most accepted form in American English”
- different from
Her new apartment is very different from her old one.
When this means “also common in American English, especially before a clause”
- different than
The town looks different than it did ten years ago.
When this means “means 'various, several separate'; usually comes before a plural noun”
- different + plural noun
The class has students from many different countries.
Collocations
- completely different
- very different
- look different
- many different
- in different ways
- something different
Synonyms
- unlike
- dissimilar
- various
- separate
- unusual
Antonyms
- same
- similar
- alike
Idioms
a whole different story
a situation that is very unlike the one just mentioned
Cooking for two is easy, but cooking for twenty is a whole different story.