differentia

noun

ˌdi-fə-ˈren(t)-sh(ē-)ə How to pronounce differentia (audio)
Definition of differentianext
as in characteristic
something that sets apart an individual from others of the same kind a list of the chief differentiae between a controlling cult and a legitimate religious sect

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for differentia
  1. characteristic
  2. trait
  3. quality
  4. attribute
  5. feature
  6. attribution
  7. criterion
Noun
  • According to the team, each of those characteristics plays out similarly in real fish of various sizes across different ecological niches.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026
  • And most simulants of lunar material are faithful in their geological characteristics, to simulate the lunar surface and its dust, rather than the precise chemistry within.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of characteristic
Noun
  • This suggests an inherent bias from the LLM's Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (RLHF) training, where human input inadvertently promotes traits like curiosity.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Craig was extremely productive at Harvard and has NFL-caliber traits with his size, mobility and throw power.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of trait
Noun
  • The centre-back hopes signing for Birmingham will bring out latent leadership qualities.
    — Katie Whyatt, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • None of the lead articles compare firms that adopted these AI processes with otherwise similar firms that did not, on realized strategy quality or long-run performance.
    — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of quality
Noun
  • Collectively, the launches position sustainability as one performance attribute among several—including comfort, opacity, cooling and durability—rather than as a standalone proposition.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 27 Aug. 2026
  • And Cullen is the reason Optimus Prime retained the attributes fans love so much about that character.
    — Mike Ryan, IndieWire, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of attribute
Noun
  • Japan has selected Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s luminously cerebral French-language feature All of a Sudden as its submission for the best international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, All Of A Sudden, has been selected as Japan’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of feature
Noun
  • Since OpenAI published its blog post, the website changed the article’s attribution to one of the real authors, Kate Hooper, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Much of the content generated promoted an organization called the International Burke Institute (IBI), the website of which features articles copied from real academic writing, sometimes with false attribution.
    — Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of attribution
Noun
  • Here are the stocks that met that criteria and were also up more than 5% on the week.
    — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The tropical disturbance influencing Sunday's forecast is expected to move west, dropping the probability of weather violating launch criteria to about 30% — offering a 70% chance of acceptable conditions.
    — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of criterion
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

different
differentia
differentiability
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Cite this Entry

“Differentia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/differentia. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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