as in discriminatory
favoring, applying, or being unequal treatment of different classes of people
did away with differential pay scales for men and women doing the same work
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Recent Examples of differential
This creates a math problem for other teams—the Thunder attempt nearly six more shots per game than its foes simply via its turnover differential.
—
Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 20 Apr. 2025
The club has scored five goals this season and given up five for an even-zero goal differential.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Apr. 2025
With the win, Gotham FC (1-1-2, 5 points) is tied for fifth place with the Thorns in the NWSL standings (Gotham has the better goal differential).
—Asli Pelit, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Nobody expected the Cavs to have their best season in franchise history (by point differential), and Mobley is arguably their most important player.
—Shane Young, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for differential
Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 20 Apr. 2025
The club has scored five goals this season and given up five for an even-zero goal differential.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Apr. 2025
With the win, Gotham FC (1-1-2, 5 points) is tied for fifth place with the Thorns in the NWSL standings (Gotham has the better goal differential).
—Asli Pelit, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Nobody expected the Cavs to have their best season in franchise history (by point differential), and Mobley is arguably their most important player.
—Shane Young, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for differential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for differential
Adjective
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But the Justice Department also argued that the IRS lacked the authority to revoke or deny the schools’ exemptions on the basis that their discriminatory policies contradicted public policy.—
Marie Sapirie,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
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From their questioning of lawyers arguing on either side of the case, the majority of justices appeared open to the idea that excluding religious institutions from Oklahoma’s charter school system is discriminatory and unconstitutional.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
5 May 2025
Adjective
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For starters, this was always going to be the unfair reality of this first-round matchup; either Dallas or Colorado was going home early because the NHL’s ridiculous playoff format pitted two of the league’s top five most talented rosters right out of the gates.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
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The union filed some 90 unfair labor practice complaints against Starbucks with the National Labor Relations Board and launched a five-day strike leading up to Christmas Day in major cities, including several stores in Los Angeles.—
Suhauna Hussain,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Differential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/differential. Accessed 18 May. 2025.
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