disparate

adjective

dis·​pa·​rate ˈdi-sp(ə-)rət 

di-ˈsper-ət,

-ˈspa-rət 

1

: markedly distinct in quality or character

2

: containing or made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements

disparately adverb

disparateness noun

Did you know?

If you enjoy sorting different objects into separate categories, you're well prepared to understand the origins of disparate. The word, which first appeared in English in the 16th century, comes from the Latin verb disparāre, meaning "to divide, separate off, make different." Disparāre, in turn, comes from parāre, a verb meaning "to supply, provide, make ready or prepare." Other descendants of parāre in English include both separate and prepare, as well as repair, apparatus, and even the pugnacious vituperate ("to criticize harshly and usually publicly").

Synonyms

• different
• dissimilar
• distant
• distinct
• distinctive
• distinguishable
• diverse
• nonidentical
• other
• unalike
• unlike

Choose the Right Synonym for disparate

different, diverse, divergent, disparate, various mean unlike in kind or character.

different may imply little more than separateness but it may also imply contrast or contrariness.

different foods

diverse implies both distinctness and marked contrast.

such diverse interests as dancing and football

divergent implies movement away from each other and unlikelihood of ultimate meeting or reconciliation.

went on to pursue divergent careers

disparate emphasizes incongruity or incompatibility.

disparate notions of freedom

various stresses the number of sorts or kinds.

tried various methods

Examples of disparate in a Sentence

First during the nineteen-seventies, but with increasing momentum during the eighties, a loose community of physics researchers had begun to postulate that the disparate small particles that we learned about in high-school science class—electrons, for instance—were actually the varied vibrations of tiny open and closed looped strings. —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 21 July 2008

The American border with Mexico is among the most economically disparate intersections in the world, but the cities on either side of the port looked almost identical—a spread of humble brick and cinder-block homes dotting a blanket of brown hills. —Cecilia Balli, Harper's, October 2006

I made the French lemon cream tart that Greenspan credits to Hermé and got disparate reactions. An American friend loved its creaminess and felt it had a comfortingly familiar texture; a British friend … said he missed the traditional sharp, gel-like custard. —Tamasin Day-Lewis, Saveur, November 2006

Like these imagined cities, identical twins are identical only in their blueprints. By the time they are born, they are already disparate in countless neurological and physiological ways that mostly we cannot see. —Frank J. Sulloway, New York Review, 30 Nov. 2006

The plan, as near as anybody outside Yahoo can make out, is to stitch all those disparate organizations into one huge Frankenstein's monster of a search engine that will strike terror into the hearts of all who behold it. —Lev Grossman, Time, 22 Dec. 2003

disparate notions among adults and adolescents about when middle age begins

Recent Examples on the Web

Israel has recently revived military operations in the northern Gaza Strip aimed at rooting out the disparate Hamas fighters looking to regroup. —Laura Kelly, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024

For another, the sheer number of disparate state and local jurisdictions that would need to be manipulated makes any attempt to steal an election much harder. —Jenna Bednar, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024

In a way, this meme draws together disparate threads that have impacted the political discourse over the last few days into one neat package. —Callum Booth, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

What sets Ives apart is his masterly fusion of disparate materials: tattered old tunes, newfangled dissonances, received classical forms, self-fashioned streams of consciousness. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin disparātus "separate, distinct," from past participle of disparāre "to divide, separate off, make different," from dis- dis- + parāre "to supply, provide, make ready" (influenced in sense by association with dispar-, dispār "unequal, different") — more at pare

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

disparate

adjective

dis·​par·​ate

dis-ˈpar-ət,

ˈdis-p(ə-)rət

: very different : unique in quality or character

disparately adverb

disparateness noun

disparity

dis-ˈpar-ət-ē

noun

Medical Definition

disparate

adjective

dis·​pa·​rate dis-ˈpar-ət  ˈdis-p(ə-)rət 

: indicating or stimulating dissimilar points on the retina of each eye