noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a crucial difference
▪ There is a crucial difference between the British and American attitudes.
a dramatic difference
▪ The programs made a dramatic difference to the lives of millions of people.
a fundamental difference
▪ There is no fundamental difference between people of different races.
a gender difference
▪ Research has shown that there are gender differences in the way alcohol affects the brain.
a huge difference/gap etc
▪ The new system has made a huge difference.
a radical difference
▪ There is a radical difference between this and other dieting methods.
an essential difference
▪ The essential difference between the two boats lies in the design of the hull.
big difference
▪ There’s a big difference between understanding something and being able to explain it to others.
class differences (=differences that exist because of your class)
▪ There are noticeable class differences in family size.
cultural differences
▪ People must accept each others’ cultural differences.
detect a change/difference
▪ Dan detected a change in her mood.
have a difference of opinion (= two people disagree)
▪ He and Luke had a difference of opinion.
irreconcilable differences/conflicts
▪ The differences between the landowners and the conservationists were irreconcilable from the start.
make up the difference
▪ The company will be forced to pay $6 million to make up the difference.
noticeable difference/change/increase etc
▪ a noticeable improvement in air quality
patch up...differences
▪ Try to patch up your differences before he leaves.
resolve your differences (=stop arguing with each other)
▪ She and Rose had finally resolved their differences.
settle your differences (=agree to stop arguing)
▪ The two recently met to settle their differences.
significant difference
▪ There is a significant difference between the number of home births now and ten years ago.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
big
▪ But when couples were asked how many children they were likely to have in reality, bigger social class differences became apparent.
▪ But pay has proven to make a big difference at organizations that are smaller and less well known, too.
▪ Donald's presence certainly made a big difference to the speed we arose that day.
▪ There is a reason for that: There is a big difference in attendance patterns for the two sports.
▪ One big difference from the normal formation was that there were five defenders playing, not the usual four.
▪ To a reasonably detached observer, the biggest difference between real estate folks and editor folks is the questions they ask.
▪ It is the biggest difference between New York and other cities.
▪ Distraction turns out to make a big difference in how well memories are stored.
cultural
▪ Social perspectives on cognition have come to accept cultural differences not as deficits but as important variation.
▪ Not that racial and cultural differences can not exist.
▪ And the cultural difference is even more pronounced when it comes to personnel.
▪ Families strong enough to embrace the cultural differences of their children will give them wings to fly home.
▪ Health authorities are encouraged to arrange for the services which ethnic minority communities need and which reflect cultural differences.
▪ Ted jokes that there really are some cultural differences.
▪ Inability to cope with cultural differences may not show itself immediately.
▪ We must allow for these cultural differences.
essential
▪ This has led to the argument that there is no essential difference between debt and tax finance.
▪ The market-based economies and private ownership in Western democracies make an essential difference in the scope and application of the centralization concepts.
▪ To help the learner, complex examples should be reduced to the essential characteristics and differences emphasised.
▪ And in that there lies an essential difference between the painters and the poets here.
▪ The essential difference between single-step selection and cumulative selection is this.
▪ Whether they made an essential difference is another story, but I tend to think that everything counts.
▪ The essential difference between free email and its paid for counterpart is that the email service is provided through a Web interface.
▪ This is the essential difference between anthropology and Darwinism.
fundamental
▪ And here lies a fundamental difference of opinion - how should a National Park operate?
▪ And while there are fundamental differences between Eastern and Western medicine, this is no new age fad.
▪ This fundamental difference with the position of earlier radicals required theoretical analysis in two areas.
▪ What he did not say was that the two parties have fundamental differences on all these matters.
▪ It is rather that there is a fundamental difference in the distribution of syntactic features between the two modes.
▪ Climate change is making a fundamental difference.
▪ There is a crucial and fundamental difference, not always appreciated, between acquaintances and friends.
▪ But by now even more fundamental differences were beginning to appear.
great
▪ The greatest difference between these cars and 46-55 lay in the trucks.
▪ It was not surprising that the greatest difference occurred On the measure of persistence, drive, and sense of duty.
▪ It was indeed hierarchical: both in theory and practice it made a great difference where a man was born.
▪ Not a great difference, but a clear trend.
▪ There are, however, great differences in linguistic style between academically and non-academically oriented children.
▪ To be sure, there are even greater differences.
▪ Layout and design can make a great difference in increasing sales.
▪ That was the great difference, or rather, the fruit of a great difference symbolized by the Macanese themselves.
huge
▪ For both children modern gadgets like these make a huge difference when it comes to learning about the world around them.
▪ A: The stuff on the Internet side of your modem can make for huge differences in speed.
▪ This rate varies from lender to lender and can make a huge difference to the overall cost of your loan.
▪ The sense of fear makes a huge difference.
▪ Despite the huge differences in cost, few borrowers ever make an effort to switch their mortgage to a cheaper lender.
▪ Now it has thawed again, and there is a huge difference.
▪ Some parts of the motorway have had lights installed, making a huge difference to visibility.
▪ Moving the speakers as little as an inch or two forward or backward can make a huge difference.
important
▪ However, Weber sees important differences in the market situation of the propertyless groups in society.
▪ Within this general pattern we must however be careful to distinguish some important regional differences.
▪ There were, however, important differences.
▪ There is an important difference, however, between Eudoxos's proposal and that of Dedekind and Weierstrass.
▪ Despite such important differences, these two political ideologies nevertheless share certain affinities with respect to their visions of law and government.
▪ They delay improvements that might have made an important difference to the lives of many individuals.
▪ It must be stressed that there are important differences between stage hypnotism and the techniques used in alternative medicine.
▪ There is, however, an important difference here from the contestable markets case.
little
▪ It makes little or no difference to bed-wetting and denying the drink will seem like a punishment.
▪ The pressing seemed to make little difference and only with the extended salting times.
▪ They drag on from generation to generation and emigration to Britain makes very little difference.
▪ At the time it made little difference what it might be since I glided in and out of consciousness throughout the procedure.
▪ There is little difference between the two.
▪ For Apple, countering the perception that there was little difference between Macintosh and Windows was a difficult task.
▪ Amongst Sun readers, there was little difference between Labour and Conservative identifiers in their perceptions of its anti-Labour, pro-Conservative bias.
▪ That was why what happened on the boat makes very little difference to me.
main
▪ The main difference between the two is the melting point of the solder.
▪ The main difference is that men do not blame themselves for their ambivalence toward parenthood.
▪ List the main differences in chemical composition between the Earth and the Moon. 7.
▪ The main difference is that before we made quality of life enforcement a high priority.
▪ Describe the main differences in the budgeting process for a small retail firm and a large manufacturing firm.
▪ The main difference is that commas are more formal than dashes.
▪ The other main difference between the two species is far more difficult to explain.
▪ Discuss the main differences between accountant's and engineer's control models.
major
▪ Indeed, this is a major difference between social science and journalism.
▪ The major differences may lie in the degree of the problems and the possibilities for solutions.
▪ However, there are major differences.
▪ This may explain the major difference between men and women when it comes to reading and reacting to others.
▪ It is likely that there are major differences inside firms which will affect the patterns of cooperation and conflict.
▪ There were also major differences in the two trials.
▪ But he points out major differences.
only
▪ The only difference is a difference of degree.
▪ The only difference is that the work simply does not get published.
▪ The only difference is that this time the scope of our work is civil, mechanical and electrical.
▪ But the only difference between these two sentences lies in the choice of the lexical item as object.
▪ The only area of difference between women which woman-centred feminists consistently address is that of sexuality.
▪ The only difference is that the actual futures price is £62 000.
▪ The only difference between us is that you have a wife and three kids.
▪ The only difference now is that people are not surprised and perhaps, therefore, better prepared for the shock.
real
▪ What real difference would £250 make to us?
▪ My new firm gave me the chance to make a real difference.
▪ What real difference will it make to you to rethink this aspect of your employment?
▪ Attitudinal differences are reinforced by what are very real differences in economic situations....
▪ The real difference, however, lies in the directors' approaches.
▪ The real difference between approving or rejecting the bonds comes down to where those road projects are going to go.
▪ The real difference is observable in the breakdown of scenes and the manner in which Britten chooses to deploy the dramatic action.
▪ The real difference between him and Reed, however, is from the neck up.
significant
▪ Within these overall figures there were significant phase differences.
▪ There are significant differences in the morphology and degree of volcanic activity associated with these two types of rift.
▪ Financial Participation and Liability Here can be seen some of the most significant differences between partnerships and companies.
▪ There was no significant difference in percentage of cells in S phase in the distal colon of rats in both diet groups.
▪ Previous gastric surgery was uncommon in all three groups and showed no significant difference.
▪ There are, of course, differences and I've often wondered what is the most significant difference.
▪ Thirty-nine percent. of the cases observed received a caution with no significant difference between races.
▪ There was no significant difference in severity of disease between the groups who had obtained and had not obtained higher qualifications.
subtle
▪ Basically all the major schemes have the same rules, with a couple of subtle differences.
▪ Newborn infants are also better at hearing subtle differences, compared with adults.
▪ Other, more subtle differences show up in the symmetry properties of weak and electromagnetic interactions.
▪ A child can not comprehend the subtle difference between illegal segregation in the South and racial imbalance in the North.
▪ Each involves subtle differences in the investment strategy of the parties involved.
▪ There is efficacy and grace in the process alone and the subtle differences come only with experience.
▪ Perfect pitch is necessary for understanding the subtle differences between similar sounding words in these languages, she says.
▪ It seemed to me this evening that there was a subtle difference about him.
■ NOUN
age
▪ There was a considerable age difference at death, Barathes being 68 while his wife was only 30.
▪ The nearly 23 years between their birthdays would be the largest age difference ever between major-party presidential candidates.
▪ And she says the age difference doesn't bother her a bit.
▪ There was the age difference and everything.
▪ As well as age differences, ethnic groups also show differences in their occupational structure and family patterns.
▪ But the age difference can be easily emphasized without overt acknowledgement.
▪ It was at a time when there was a big age difference: the elder students were ex-soldiers.
▪ In fact, it was inevitable that this would happen, given our age difference.
class
▪ There are no social class differences.
▪ Highlighting class differences to emphasize his own down-to-earth roots is nothing new to Dole.
▪ However, there were also marked class differences.
▪ The social class difference in frequency of shopping is negligible.
▪ When the authors looked at the proportion of the community experiencing vulnerability factors, important social class differences emerged.
▪ But when couples were asked how many children they were likely to have in reality, bigger social class differences became apparent.
▪ There were some clear social class differences in their answers.
gender
▪ Feminist psychologists tend to see the significance of gender differences much as conventional psychologists do.
▪ Past research has looked at how the age of puberty affects subsequent risk of problems and found sharp gender differences.
▪ Potentially the hermaphrodite dissolves gender difference and, at least in its associated idea of androgyny, has become acceptable.
▪ Why are there such gender differences?
▪ Another issue, as yet little studied or confronted, is that of gender differences in access to education and achievement at school.
▪ Federman said this gender difference is consistent with that in the general public.
▪ In contrast, Piaroa minimize gender differences and maintain the same normative code of non-violent behaviour for both males and females.
▪ The gender differences explored here are social constructions that have had influence in certain mainstream discourses.
■ VERB
detect
▪ Limited specifications in automatic exposure and focusing will disappoint photography buffs, though few would detect tangible differences in the average snapshot.
▪ Just like your language instructor, they can detect the slight differences between certain speech sounds that adults will insist are identical.
▪ This lateral line system enables the fish to detect differences of pressure in the water.
▪ Rex was taking the water temperature three times a day, but it did not need his thermometer to detect the difference.
▪ Many previous studies have sought risk factors retrospectively in the context of trials designed primarily to detect a difference between antiulcer treatments.
▪ Such a person would end up with a few very large schemata and would be unable to detect differences in things.
▪ A partner may not detect the difference and the woman herself may be confused.
▪ He never detected any difference in speed, no matter how far apart the hills he and his assistants climbed.
explain
▪ To explain the difference between the two structures, they are placed in a realistic context.
▪ This may explain the major difference between men and women when it comes to reading and reacting to others.
▪ Other risk factors, not related to ethnicity, probably explain remaining differences between Maori and non-Maori children.
▪ Political socialization research attempts to explain how such differences in political beliefs can occur.
▪ This could also explain the difference in biliary lipid secretion rate between the two groups.
▪ This paper seeks to describe and explain observed grade differences in sickness absence.
▪ The doctors must be called to explain their differences.
▪ The first is that enormous amounts of professional time and effort will be absorbed in explaining apparent differences between classes and schools.
find
▪ And some day we all have to find out the difference between romance and real life.
▪ Past research has looked at how the age of puberty affects subsequent risk of problems and found sharp gender differences.
▪ We found a significant difference in the antral mucosal peptic activity before and after treatment.
▪ He found no difference in employment levels.
▪ We found no differences between the sexes, and age did not significantly influence the concentrations of laminin.
▪ Three studies found no difference between those taking beta carotene supplements and those on a placebo pill.
▪ Once we distinguished between party supporters and uncommitted voters we found no consistent differences between voters with different viewing habits.
▪ And many women who have had surgical removal of the ovaries find that the difference in desire can be quite sudden.
make
▪ It was indeed hierarchical: both in theory and practice it made a great difference where a man was born.
▪ It makes no difference at all.
▪ But it doesn't seem to make any difference.
▪ Such programs can make a big difference for the students they serve.
▪ I thought it would make a difference being a Mrs but it didn't.
▪ I think that makes a difference.
▪ Separating the eggs makes all the difference.
▪ Relationships even make a difference with animals, it seems.
mark
▪ The debate was to mark a lasting difference between East and West.
▪ We were drawn together partly be-cause of, not in spite of, the marked differences in our personalities.
▪ The basic convention underlying all fiction marks its difference from fact.
▪ This isolation, like the isolation in terrestrial evolution, breeds variety and marked differences.
▪ Bands lack formal leaders, so there are no marked economic differences or disparities in status among their members.
▪ That is what marks the enormous valuational difference between organisms and persons.
▪ Perhaps this marks the single biggest difference between Marxist Socialism, and Empirical Socialism as it is now practised.
notice
▪ Try comparing a plucked note on a violin and on a mandolin and you will certainly notice the difference.
▪ Have you noticed any difference in the service you get from Washington bureaucrats during the last two weeks of December?
▪ The deal would create Britain's largest independent broadcasting group, but both companies say the viewer shouldn't notice any difference.
▪ They are so certain of their theories and experience that they are unable to notice individual differences.
▪ You will soon notice the difference if you make a sudden switch between the two.
▪ He was too drunk to notice the difference.
▪ Friday Haven't noticed any difference so far this year.
▪ I want my children to notice differences in language, too.
reflect
▪ It also highlights significant regional variations, possibly reflecting a marked difference in schools' approach to discipline.
▪ We think what this reflects is an honest difference of opinion about business decisions.
▪ The split reflected a portentous difference of approach within the Party.
▪ With older children, the issues are more complex and may truly reflect differences in male and female attitudes.
▪ This variation in signal intensity may reflect the differences in the cell density of tissues that express the gene.
▪ Expressions of power often reflect honest differences between people seeking to achieve their work-related objectives.
▪ Tenure differences may also reflect differences in lifestyle and attitudes.
▪ The split reflects a difference of opinion simmering for months within the Republican Party.
resolve
▪ The way to resolve political differences is through debate, dialogue and the ballot box, not on the streets.
▪ Your contribution may well resolve some of this difference or create more conflicting points for further argument.
▪ When the two kings had resolved their differences, Dynamius sided firmly with Childebert.
▪ I think we have differences, but we should attempt to resolve those differences.
▪ This is because low-pitched sounds have long wavelengths which can not resolve the difference between closely spaced objects.
▪ Efforts to resolve the differences were put off until this year.
▪ However, they resolved those differences during final floor votes and afterward appeared together with Gov.
▪ Melissa wondered what was passing though her mind and whether she and Rose had resolved their differences.
settle
▪ Having settled her differences, she gave my hand a tentative lick.
▪ Clearly, however, we are never going to settle our religious differences with respect to education through the political process.
▪ It is that they are not talking because they see no way to settle their differences.
▪ No Boston painter would have attempted to settle an aesthetic difference like Luks did when he punched Edmund Tarbell in the jaw.
▪ But Lissovsky's biggest problem is to persuade the gangsters who frequent the club to settle their differences elsewhere.
▪ We have to settle our differences and come together as one.
▪ The warring sides finally came face-to-face at a meeting designed to help them settle their differences.
▪ Finding nonviolent ways of settling differences between diverse groups of interests is the essence of democracy.
show
▪ The distribution of the payments likewise shows considerable differences between the sexes.
▪ Perhaps if you get his attention, you could show him the difference between erotica and comedy.
▪ A short table should suffice to show the differences.
▪ With the exit polls Tuesday showing an unprecedented gender difference of 17 points, Clinton stretched the gap into a gulf.
▪ The lunar samples show some striking differences from Earth rocks.
▪ The drawing shows some other differences.
▪ Despite this both Study 2 and Study 3 failed to show any significant differences between the ten junctions in recognition performance.
▪ These showed no statistical difference in the concentrations of the various forms of gastrins between the different methods of sample preparation.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a wide variation/difference/gap etc
▪ But there is, indeed, still a wide gap in the use of flexibility.
▪ But when the national polls are a wide gap, the country is pretty likely to follow.
▪ Just as there may be a wide variation in the inputs, so may the outputs vary.
▪ Solids exhibit a wide variation in rigidity.
▪ The second column also shows that there is a wide variation between regions in the proportion of exports to foreign debt.
▪ There is a wide difference between promise and performance.
▪ Waiting time by specialty is meaningless as it conceals a wide variation among consultants' clinics.
▪ Within the general waste type shown in these figures exists a wide variation.
bury the hatchet/bury your differences
irreconcilable differences
▪ As soon as the meeting began, however, irreconcilable differences emerged.
▪ The principal advocates of the works, however, often present irreconcilable differences in both interpretation and methods of advocacy.
▪ The subjective nature of measuring program effectiveness may lead to irreconcilable differences between the review staff and program management.
▪ They want us to believe irreconcilable differences are the reason she filed for divorce?
not make a blind bit of difference
not the slightest chance/doubt/difference etc
▪ But whether the parent with the yellow flowers supplies the egg or the pollen makes not the slightest difference.
▪ I tried closing my eyes; it made not the slightest difference.
▪ There was now not the slightest doubt that Hsu was decaying and losing her structural integrity.
same difference
▪ The same difference of sense recurs in the following: 79.
▪ The same differences are evident in pay disparity, which is greatest at doctoral universities and the least at four-year colleges.
sink your differences
split the difference
▪ Their offer is only about $500 dollars less than we're asking, so we'll probably just split the difference.
▪ Even those who attempt to split the difference are not too fussy about where the line is drawn.
▪ Now let me see if I can split the difference.
▪ Ross proposed that they split the difference and suggested a date in 1998.
▪ We decided that I would live and split the difference between then and a projected now.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Calculate the difference between the amount you started with and what you have left.
▪ He's speaking Italian, not Spanish. Don't you know the difference?
▪ I don't think there's any difference in the way you pronounce these two words.
▪ I prefer the Peugeot 406 to the 405. What's the price difference?
▪ If you put all your savings towards the cost of a bike, your Dad and I will pay the difference.
▪ The difference between the two cheeses is that one is made from goat's milk.
▪ The trade deficit is the difference between imports and exports.
▪ There is a vast difference between daytime and night-time temperatures in the desert.
▪ There was fifteen years difference in age between the two women.
▪ Try and spot the differences between these two pictures.
▪ We should think about the similarities between cultures, not the differences.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Create an environment where every employee can feel that he or she can make a difference.
▪ Even in post-classical law, then, some differences of significance between legacies and trusts persisted.
▪ From the styles of the two painters their difference is apparent.
▪ It provides attenuation of potential difference represented by when it is negligibly loaded.
▪ Look for little touches that will make the difference.
▪ Perhaps the biggest differences in attitudes toward guns come between men and women.
▪ The difference with Vygotsky's views on this issue is handled well.
▪ The explanation of the difference is important for a number of reasons.