What's the difference between difference and indifference?

Difference


Definition:

  • (n.) The act of differing; the state or measure of being different or unlike; distinction; dissimilarity; unlikeness; variation; as, a difference of quality in paper; a difference in degrees of heat, or of light; what is the difference between the innocent and the guilty?
  • (n.) Disagreement in opinion; dissension; controversy; quarrel; hence, cause of dissension; matter in controversy.
  • (n.) That by which one thing differs from another; that which distinguishes or causes to differ; mark of distinction; characteristic quality; specific attribute.
  • (n.) Choice; preference.
  • (n.) An addition to a coat of arms to distinguish the bearings of two persons, which would otherwise be the same. See Augmentation, and Marks of cadency, under Cadency.
  • (n.) The quality or attribute which is added to those of the genus to constitute a species; a differentia.
  • (n.) The quantity by which one quantity differs from another, or the remainder left after subtracting the one from the other.
  • (v. t.) To cause to differ; to make different; to mark as different; to distinguish.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) All transplants were performed using standard techniques, the operation for the two groups differing only as described above.
  • (2) This study was undertaken to determine whether the survival of Hispanic patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck was different from that of Anglo-American patients.
  • (3) Patients with papillary carcinoma with a good cell-mediated immune response occurred with much lower infiltration of the tumor boundary with lymphocyte whereas the follicular carcinoma less cell-mediated immunity was associated with dense lymphocytic infiltration, suggesting the biological relevance of lymphocytic infiltration may be different for the two histologic variants.
  • (4) Spectral analysis of spontaneous heart rate fluctuations, a powerful noninvasive tool for quantifying autonomic nervous system activity, was assessed in Xenopus Laevis, intact or spinalized, at different temperatures and by use of pharmacological tools.
  • (5) Age difference did not affect the mean dose-effect response.
  • (6) The prenatal risk determined by smoking pregnant woman was studied by a fetal electrocardiogram at different gestational ages.
  • (7) Although the mean values for all hemodynamic variables between the two placebo periods were minimally changed, the differences in individual patients were striking.
  • (8) Phospholipid methylation in human EGMs is distinctly different from that in rat EGMs (Hirata and Axelrod 1980) in that the human activity is not Mg++-dependent, and apparent methyltransferase I activity is located in the external membrane surface.
  • (9) The high amino acid levels in the cells suggest that these cells act as inter-organ transporters and reservoirs of amino acids, they have a different role in their handling and metabolism from those of mammals.
  • (10) The outward currents are sensitive to TEA and their reversal potentials differ.
  • (11) During control, no significant difference between systolic fluctuation (delta Pa) and pleural swings (delta Ppl) was found.
  • (12) This difference was not due to ATPase activity in the assay.
  • (13) No differences between the two substances were observed with respect to side effects and general tolerability.
  • (14) Five probes of high specificity to individual chromosomes (chromosomes 3, 11, 17, 18 and X) were hybridized in situ to metaphase chromosomes of different individuals.
  • (15) The cross sectional area of the aortic lumen was gradually decreased while the length of the stenotic lesion gradually increased by using strips with different width.
  • (16) For male schizophrenics, all symptom differences disappeared except one; blacks were more frequently asocial.
  • (17) Between 22 HLA-identical siblings and 16 two-haplotype different siblings, a significant difference in concordance of reactions for the B-cell groups was noted.
  • (18) It would be fascinating to see if greater local government involvement in running the NHS in places such as Manchester leads over the longer term to a noticeable difference in the financial outlook.
  • (19) Snooker, which became and remains a fixture in the BBC2 schedules, was chosen for showing because it is the sport in which different shades are most significant.
  • (20) Would people feel differently about it if, for instance, it happened on Boxing Day or Christmas Eve?

Indifference


Definition:

  • (n.) The quality or state of being indifferent, or not making a difference; want of sufficient importance to constitute a difference; absence of weight; insignificance.
  • (n.) Passableness; mediocrity.
  • (n.) Impartiality; freedom from prejudice, prepossession, or bias.
  • (n.) Absence of anxiety or interest in respect to what is presented to the mind; unconcernedness; as, entire indifference to all that occurs.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) I did not - do not - quite understand how some are able to contemplate his anti-semitism with indifference.
  • (2) Strains showing occasional antagonism at a particular proportion of concentrations of the test combination, were found to only be indifferent when the mean index of the fractional inhibition concentration of all checkerboard combinations was calculated.
  • (3) Whether out of fear, indifference or a sense of impotence, the general population has learned to turn away, like commuters speeding by on the freeways to the suburbs, unseeingly passing over the squalor.
  • (4) "The disrespect embodied in these apparent mass violations of the law is part of a larger pattern of seeming indifference to the constitution that is deeply troubling to millions of Americans in both political parties," he said.
  • (5) The report paints a picture characterised too often by international indifference, even over the collection and distribution of the raw data on migrant deaths.
  • (6) Never had I heard anything about what I saw documented so unsparingly in Evan’s photographs: families sleeping in the streets, their clothes in shreds, straw hats torn and unprotecting of the sun, guajiros looking for work on the doorsteps of Havana’s indifferent mansions.
  • (7) We know this system doesn't work – and yet we prop it up with ignorance and indifference.
  • (8) The Tip Deflection Test involved securing the lead at 45 degrees at the indifferent electrode and applying a force to deflect the tip 5 mm.
  • (9) A sine wave current stimulus, applied between electrodes placed about one ear and an indifferent electrode, produced a cyclical sway predominantly in the coronal plane.
  • (10) I watched about 90 shows in three weeks, with an unfavourable ratio of good to bad to indifferent.
  • (11) The ghastliness of this American shock jock, who, though still obscure to most Britons, is said to be the third most popular radio host in the States, perhaps explains why news of his continued exclusion from the UK was greeted last week with utter indifference.
  • (12) In 20 patients a water-soluble contrast medium (Urovison for infusion 30%, 500 ml) was injected after addition of indifferent infusion solutions, or the contrast medium was mixed with the ascitic fluid remaining in the cavity after abdominal puncture of patients with ascites.
  • (13) When the initial-link reinforcement rate was lower than the terminal-link rate, preference converged toward indifference.
  • (14) In this study was tested the prediction that approach-oriented wrestlers should perform better than indifferent- and avoidance-oriented ones.
  • (15) On a macro level, a party that is already thoroughly militarized and corporatized – and largely indifferent to Main Street whenever it poses a conflict with Wall Street – offers little alternative to the other party that already celebrates that.
  • (16) Even if Honda manage to improve their woeful power unit and McLaren make improvements to their indifferent car, it is difficult to see the team running better than mid-table next term.
  • (17) He says it is not for him to say what Russia should do but “it can not be indifferent to the destiny of such a big partner as Ukraine”.
  • (18) What to say to the children who went to a pop concert and left to find their waiting parents blown apart by the hate and callous indifference in the foyer?
  • (19) The best results were observed in hebephrenic forms and depressive syndroms during the illness; in these indications, carpipramine exerts a clear psychomotor stimulating activity which is useful in decreasing indifference, apathy and ideomotor slowness.
  • (20) In general, the combination of quinolone antibiotics with other drugs tested against staphylococci, enterococci, and anaerobic species has shown indifference.