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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of differential
The rear differential fluid comes up on the maintenance reminder as the number 6.
—
John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 24 Jan. 2026
With its front and rear differential locks, the beast was ready to drive anywhere.
—New Atlas, 21 Jan. 2026
Zeroing in on this specific type of differential exposure within a family has limits, such as excluding families with a single child.
—O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 16 Jan. 2026
The transfer case is a separate component and is different than differential service.
—John Paul, The Providence Journal, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for differential
John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 24 Jan. 2026
With its front and rear differential locks, the beast was ready to drive anywhere.
—New Atlas, 21 Jan. 2026
Zeroing in on this specific type of differential exposure within a family has limits, such as excluding families with a single child.
—O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 16 Jan. 2026
The transfer case is a separate component and is different than differential service.
—John Paul, The Providence Journal, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for differential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for differential
Adjective
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The discriminatory language wasn’t stripped from the state’s Constitution until 1950 for Native Americans, 1962 for residents of Chinese descent, and 1982 for Mormons.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
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The teacher alleged Licata created a hostile work environment, made discriminatory comments and ultimately kept the teacher from advancing in his career.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Dan Sachs, vice president of state and local policy at Meta, wrote in the letter that the legislation is unfair.—
Angela Palermo,
Idaho Statesman,
2 Apr. 2026
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This may sound wildly unfair, but there’s some good news.—
Julia Daye,
Popular Science,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Differential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/differential. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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