compare
verb
com·pare
| \ kəm-ˈper
\
\
compared;
comparing
Definition of compare
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: to represent as similar : liken
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?— William Shakespeare
2a
: to examine the character or qualities of especially in order to discover resemblances or differences
compare your responses with the answers
b
: to view in relation to
He is tall compared to me. The test was easy compared with the last one.
3
: to inflect or modify (an adjective or adverb) according to the degrees of comparison : state the positive, comparative, and superlative forms of
1
: to bear being compared
The two don't even begin to compare. We bought two different brands of peanut butter to see how they compare.
2
: to make comparisons
If we now go to Italy at all, we go not to learn, but to compare.— Norman Douglas
3
: to be equal or alike
Nothing compares to you.
compare
nounDefinition of compare (Entry 2 of 2)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for compare
Synonyms: Verb
analogize, assimilate, bracket, equate, liken
Antonyms: Verb
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Examples of compare in a Sentence
Verb
The singer's voice has been compared to that of Elvis. We each did the homework assignment, then compared answers. I compared several bicycles before buying one.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Franck compares this pitching and heaving motion to the fluke of a large whale, except that the animal usually uses this motion for propulsion. — Shweta Narayan, Smithsonian, "How Engineers of New Energy Technology Are Taking Cues From Nature," 31 Aug. 2019 Signing off on the project, the Planning Commission called for the city to conduct its own traffic study six months after Target’s Oct. 16 grand opening and compare real traffic conditions to the company’s predictions. — Sara Cardine, La Cañada Valley Sun, "Target store has increased traffic in La Cañada’s Town Center, study finds," 28 Aug. 2019 That compares to a loss ratio of about 62% across all property and casualty insurance, according to data compiled by the NAIC of insurers that report to them. — Renee Dudley, ProPublica, "The Extortion Economy: How Insurance Companies Are Fueling a Rise in Ransomware Attacks," 27 Aug. 2019 The new study, presented at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference in Barcelona, compares mineral deposit patterns on Mars with those seen on Earth to support the hypothesis. — Fox News, "Ancient Mars was warm and rainy enough to support life, study says," 27 Aug. 2019 That was an uptick in support for Sanders (from 14%) and Warren (from 15%) compared to the same poll in June, while support for Biden dropped from 32% in the June poll. — Caitlin Conant, CBS News, "2020 Daily Trail Markers: Another Kennedy?," 26 Aug. 2019 Take a look, how does your city compare to the others? — Julia Fair, Cincinnati.com, "Here's how much your Northern Kentucky leaders are making," 25 Aug. 2019 According to The Verge, many people compared it to Fyre Fest. — Martha Sorren, refinery29.com, "Why Michael Weist From Hulu's New Documentary Jawline May Sound Familiar," 24 Aug. 2019 In fact, some are comparing the city of Hawkins to the government of the United States. — Jasmine Gomez, Seventeen, "Did "Stranger Things" Try to Troll Donald Trump in Season 3?," 19 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
But how does this compare to the rotation rate of the robot arm? — Adam Rogers, WIRED, "The Awesome Bowling Robot Is Surely Fake. Here's How to Tell," 10 July 2019 On top of that, its stock remains expensive: An enterprise value of 8.6 times operating earnings compares with an industry average of 3.3. — Jon Sindreu, WSJ, "A New Chapter for Norwegian Air?," 11 July 2019 How did Archie’s christening compare to cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis‘ big days? — Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE.com, "How Archie's Royal Christening Differs from Cousins George, Charlotte and Louis' Ceremonies," 6 July 2019 How does making a documentary compare to making a fictional feature about a true subject, like Rush or A Beautiful Mind? — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, "How Ron Howard used the structure of opera to tell the story of Pavarotti's life," 4 June 2019 That average is less than half as high as Churchill recorded in each of its last four spring meets and compares favorably to last year’s Equine Injury Database average of 1.80. — Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "With 3 fatalities, Churchill Downs' spring meet was its safest since at least 2010," 18 Apr. 2019 As appealing and character-defining as each of those were, none compare to the devastating beauty of what came later: Steve Rogers’s beard, and the glory of seeing it for the first time. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "The enduring legacy and fantasy of Captain America’s beard, explained," 18 June 2019 Nor can a reproduction compare to the immediacy of the originals, which lures viewers into a personal rapport with the artist. — Claudia Kalb, National Geographic, "Explore Leonardo da Vinci works from Queen Elizabeth II's private collection," 14 May 2019 Don't be influenced by what your best friend is getting her boyfriend of 5 years and don't play compare and contrast. — Adrienne Faurote, Marie Claire, "6 First Gift Tips," 16 Oct. 2015These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'compare.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for compare
compare
verb
English Language Learners Definition of compare
: to say that (something) is similar to something else
: to look at (two or more things) closely in order to see what is similar or different about them or in order to decide which one is better
: to be as good or as bad as something else : to be on the same level or in the same category as something else
See the full definition for compare in the English Language Learners Dictionary
compare
verb
com·pare