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 Hawks had the league’s third-best net rating (an adjusted point differential thing) in March.
—
Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 1 Apr. 2026
The idea — drawing on philosopher Nick Bostrom’s concept of differential technological development — is to accelerate the technologies that reduce risk and delay the ones that increase it.
—Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
The differential scanning calorimeter provides high-precision measurements of heat capacity and sample purity.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 20 Feb. 2026
If all three sides are 1-1, the tiebreaker will be point differential.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for differential
Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 1 Apr. 2026
The idea — drawing on philosopher Nick Bostrom’s concept of differential technological development — is to accelerate the technologies that reduce risk and delay the ones that increase it.
—Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
The differential scanning calorimeter provides high-precision measurements of heat capacity and sample purity.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 20 Feb. 2026
If all three sides are 1-1, the tiebreaker will be point differential.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for differential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for differential
Adjective
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Last fall, the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether to strike down Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which has been used to counter racially discriminatory election practices.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Apr. 2026
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These discriminatory tactics can paralyze courage.—
Ciera Bates-Chamberlain,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Rich Batenburg, founder and CEO of The Clear Brands, says competitors in the marijuana industry who skirt the rules gain unfair advantages and present public health risks to patients and consumers.—
Karen Morfitt,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
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For the early architects, food was always political and thus, so too was food justice—a direct affront to unfair systems.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Differential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/differential. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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