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disparate

ˈdɪspərətadjective

What does disparate mean?

Very different from each other, with little in common.

Disparate, six ways

PlainVery different from each other, with little in common.
ADHDTotally different. Don’t match. Hard to compare.
Gen ZThings that do not belong in the same sentence, and yet here they are.
MetaphorGuests at a table who have never met and share no language.
FormalEssentially different in kind; not allowing comparison.
Like I’m 5Things that are so different they don’t go together at all. That’s disparate.

How to pronounce disparate

DIS-per-it/ˈdɪspərət/

Disparate in a sentence

The book pulls together disparate ideas.
We had disparate ideas about a good vacation.
The report links disparate data sources.

Synonyms for disparate

differentPlainer; disparate stresses how far apart.
dissimilarNot alike, more neutral.
diverseVaried, usually as a good thing.

Where disparate comes from

Latin. Disparare, to separate, from parare, to prepare; later shaped by dispar, unequal.

Good to know

Not to be confused with desperate. Disparate things are so unlike that putting them together is worth remarking on.

Disparate meaning, on a Gloss card: Very different from each other, with little in common.

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