Correspond vs Conform - What's the difference?
correspond | conform |
to be equivalent or similar in character, quantity, quality, origin, structure, function etc.
to exchange messages, especially by postal letter, over a period of time.
(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:
* 1839 , , The Voyage of the Beagle , ch. 4:
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:
* 2006 22 Dec., "
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):
* 1836 , , Nature , ch. 6:
As verbs the difference between correspond and conform
is that correspond is to be equivalent or similar in character, quantity, quality, origin, structure, function etc while conform is to act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.correspond
English
Verb
(en verb)- I've been corresponding with my German pen pal for three years.
conform
English
Verb
(en verb)- [H]e had a dispensation for conforming in outward observances to the Protestant faith.
- [B]y conforming to the dress and habits of the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country.
- In height and breadth it conformed to the prescribed measurements laid down by the rules of the contest.
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.
- There is a worm by Phoebus bred,
- By leaves of mulberry is fed,
- Which unprovided where to dwell,
- Conforms itself to weave a cell.
- The sensual man conforms' thoughts to things; the poet ' conforms things to his thoughts.