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What is the difference between disparate and separate?

disparate | separate |

As adjectives the difference between disparate and separate

is that disparate is composed of inherently different or distinct elements; incongruous while separate is apart from (the rest); not connected to or attached to (anything else).

As nouns the difference between disparate and separate

is that disparate is any of a group of unequal or dissimilar things while separate is anything that is sold by itself, especially an article of clothing.

As a verb separate is

to divide (a thing) into separate parts.

disparate

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Composed of inherently different or distinct elements; incongruous.
  • The board of the company was decidedly disparate – no two members from the same social or economic background.
  • Essentially different; of different species, unlike but not opposed in pairs; also, less properly, utterly unlike; incapable of being compared; having no common genus.
  • *
  • *
  • Synonyms

    * (composed of distinct elements ): incongruous, mismatched, uncoordinated * (markedly different ): different, dissimilar, unalike

    References

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (chiefly, in the plural) Any of a group of unequal or dissimilar things.
  • Anagrams

    * ----

    separate

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Apart from (the rest); not connected to or attached to (anything else).
  • This chair can be disassembled into five separate pieces.
  • Not together (with); not united (to).
  • I try to keep my personal life separate from work.

    Verb

    (separat)
  • To divide (a thing) into separate parts.
  • To disunite something from one thing; To disconnect.
  • * Dryden
  • From the fine gold I separate the alloy.
  • * Bible, Romans viii. 35
  • Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
  • To cause (things or people) to be separate.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Fantasy of navigation , passage=It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […];  […]; or perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment.}}
  • To divide itself into separate pieces or substances.
  • (obsolete) To set apart; to select from among others, as for a special use or service.
  • * Bible, Acts xiii. 2
  • Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

    Derived terms

    * separable * separately * separation * separational * separationism * separationist

    Antonyms

    * annex * combine

    See also

    * disunite * disconnect * divide * split * reduce * subtract

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (usually, in the plural) Anything that is sold by itself, especially an article of clothing.
  • Usage notes

    * The spelling is (separate). *(term) is a common misspelling.