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Confer vs Conform - What's the difference?

confer | conform |

In lang=en terms the difference between confer and conform

is that confer is to grant as a possession; to bestow while conform is to make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt.

As verbs the difference between confer and conform

is that confer is (obsolete|intransitive) to compare while conform is (intransitive|of persons|often followed by to) to act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.

confer

English

Verb

(conferr)
  • (obsolete) To compare.
  • * 1557 (book title):
  • The Newe Testament ... Conferred diligently with the Greke, and best approued translations.
  • *, II.3.1.i:
  • Confer thine estate with others […]. Be content and rest satisfied, for thou art well in respect to others […].
  • * Boyle
  • If we confer these observations with others of the like nature, we may find cause to rectify the general opinion.
  • To talk together, to consult, discuss; to deliberate.
  • * 1974 , "A Traveler's Perils", Time , 25 Mar 1974:
  • Local buttons popped when Henry Kissinger visited Little Rock last month to confer with Fulbright on the Middle East oil talks.
  • (obsolete) To bring together; to collect, gather.
  • To grant as a possession; to bestow.
  • * Milton
  • the public marks of honour and reward conferred upon me
  • * 2010 , Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer , 7 Feb 2010:
  • The special immunities that are conferred on MPs were framed with the essential purpose of allowing them to speak freely in parliament.
  • (obsolete) To contribute; to conduce.
  • * Glanvill
  • The closeness and compactness of the parts resting together doth much confer to the strength of the union.

    See also

    * cf ----

    conform

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (intransitive, of persons, often followed by to) To act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.
  • * 1822 , , Peveril of the Peak , ch. 1:
  • [H]e had a dispensation for conforming in outward observances to the Protestant faith.
  • * 1839 , , The Voyage of the Beagle , ch. 4:
  • [B]y conforming to the dress and habits of the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country.
  • To be in accordance with a set of specifications or regulations, or with a policy or guideline.
  • * 1919 , , The Camp Fire Girls Do Their Bit , ch. 11:
  • In height and breadth it conformed to the prescribed measurements laid down by the rules of the contest.
  • * 2006 22 Dec., " Judge Cuts Amount of Vioxx Award ," New York Times (retrieved 7 June 2011):
  • A judge in a Texas widow’s lawsuit over the Merck drug Vioxx reduced a $32 million jury award to about $7.75 million on Thursday so that it conformed to state law.
  • To make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt.
  • * , "Vanbrugh's House" in The Poems of Jonathan Swift (1910 edition):
  • There is a worm by Phoebus bred,
    By leaves of mulberry is fed,
    Which unprovided where to dwell,
    Conforms itself to weave a cell.
  • * 1836 , , Nature , ch. 6:
  • The sensual man conforms' thoughts to things; the poet ' conforms things to his thoughts.

    Synonyms

    * (act in accordance with expectations) acquiesce, comply, go along to get along, knuckle under, submit