differ
verb OPAL WOPAL S
/ˈdɪfə(r)/
/ˈdɪfər/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they differ | /ˈdɪfə(r)/ /ˈdɪfər/ |
| he / she / it differs | /ˈdɪfəz/ /ˈdɪfərz/ |
| past simple differed | /ˈdɪfəd/ /ˈdɪfərd/ |
| past participle differed | /ˈdɪfəd/ /ˈdɪfərd/ |
| -ing form differing | /ˈdɪfərɪŋ/ /ˈdɪfərɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] to be different from somebody/something
- They hold differing views.
- A differs from B French differs from English in this respect.
- A and B differ (from each other) French and English differ in this respect.
- differ between A and B Ideas on childcare may differ considerably between the parents.
Language Bank contrastcontrastHighlighting differences- This survey highlights a number of differences in the way that teenage boys and girls in the UK spend their free time.
- One of the main differences between the girls and the boys who took part in the research was the way in which they use the internet.
- Unlike the girls, who use the internet mainly to keep in touch with friends, the boys questioned in this survey tend to use the internet for playing computer games.
- The girls differ from the boys in that they tend to spend more time keeping in touch with friends on the phone or on social networking websites.
- Compared to the boys, the girls spend much more time chatting to friends on the phone.
- On average the girls spend four hours a week chatting to friends on the phone. In contrast, very few of the boys spend more than five minutes a day talking to their friends in this way.
- The boys prefer competitive sports and computer games, whereas/while the girls seem to enjoy more cooperative activities, such as shopping with friends.
- When the girls go shopping, they mainly buy clothes and cosmetics. The boys, on the other hand, tend to purchase computer games or gadgets.
Extra ExamplesTopics Opinion and argumentb2- His ideas differ little from those of his father.
- Opinions differ widely on this issue.
- Social organization differs significantly between the different groups.
- The models differ in size and shape.
- The rates of violent crime differed greatly among the four cities.
- The two approaches differ markedly
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- considerably
- dramatically
- enormously
- …
- according to
- among
- between
- …
- [intransitive] to disagree with somebody
- differ (with somebody) (about/on/over something) I have to differ with you on that.
- differ (as to something) Medical opinion differs as to how to treat the disease.
Extra ExamplesTopics Opinion and argumentc1- It didn't seem right that I should differ with him.
- The two parties differ on all the major issues.
- The two sides still differ over details of the plan.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + differ- agree to
- beg to
- about
- over
- on
- …
Word Originlate Middle English (also in the sense ‘put off, defer’): from Old French differer ‘differ, defer’, from Latin differre, from dis- ‘from, away’ + ferre ‘bring, carry’. Compare with defer ‘put off’.
Idioms
agree to differ/disagree
- if two people agree to differ/disagree, they accept that they have different opinions about something, but they decide not to discuss it any longer
- We must just agree to differ on this.
- In the end we agreed to disagree.
- I think you're wrong. Let's just agree to differ.
I beg to differ
- used to say politely that you do not agree with something that has just been said
- ‘At least she is good at her job.’ ‘Oh, I beg to differ.’