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Eligible vs Valid - What's the difference?

eligible | valid |

As adjectives the difference between eligible and valid

is that eligible is suitable; meeting the conditions; worthy of being chosen; allowed to do something while valid is well grounded or justifiable, pertinent.

As a noun eligible

is one who is eligible.

eligible

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Suitable; meeting the conditions; worthy of being chosen; allowed to do something.

    • Usage notes

    Used in the phrase (eligible bachelor) to mean “desirable male”, the corresponding term for a woman is nubile.

    Related terms

    * eligibility * eligibly * elite * choosable * licensed

    Synonyms

    * qualified

    Antonyms

    * ineligible * unqualified

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who is eligible.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2007, date=October 3, author=Diane Ravitch, title=Get Congress Out of the Classroom, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=Federal agencies report that only about 1 percent of eligible students take advantage of switching schools and fewer than 20 percent of eligibles receive extra tutoring.}}

    valid

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Well grounded or justifiable, pertinent.
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April
    • , author=(Jan Sapp) , title=Race Finished , volume=100, issue=2, page=164 , magazine=(American Scientist) citation , passage=Few concepts are as emotionally charged as that of race. The word conjures up a mixture of associations—culture, ethnicity, genetics, subjugation, exclusion and persecution. But is the tragic history of efforts to define groups of people by race really a matter of the misuse of science, the abuse of a valid biological concept?}}
    I will believe him as soon as he offers a valid answer.
  • Acceptable, proper or correct.
    • A valid format for the date is MM/DD/YY.
    Do not drive without a valid license.
  • Related to the current topic, or presented within context, relevant.
  • (logic) Of a formula or system: such that it evaluates to true regardless of the input values.
  • (logic) Of an argument: whose conclusion is always true whenever its premises are true.
    • An argument is valid if and only if the set consisting of both (1) all of its premises and (2) the contradictory of its conclusion is inconsistent.

    Antonyms

    * invalid

    Hyponyms

    * sound

    Related terms

    * validate * validation * validator