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Identical vs Same - What's the difference?

identical | same | Synonyms |

Same is a synonym of identical.



As adjectives the difference between identical and same

is that identical is bearing full likeness by having precisely the same set of characteristics; indistinguishable while same is not different or other; not another or others; not different as regards self; selfsame; identical.

As a noun identical

is something which has exactly the same properties as something else.

As a pronoun same is

the identical thing, ditto.

As an adverb same is

together.

As a proper noun Same is

a district capital of Manufahi District in East Timor.

identical

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • (not comparable) Bearing full likeness by having precisely the same set of characteristics; indistinguishable.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1911, title=Encyclopædia Britannica, chapter=
  • , passage=By this means as many absolutely identical plates can be produced as may be required, and being hardened they will yield a very large number of prints without any appreciable deterioration.}}
  • *
  • *
  • (not comparable) Not different or other; not another or others; not different as regards self; selfsame; numerically identical.
  • *
  • *
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, title=, by=W. C. Firebaugh, author=Petronius,
  • passage=Nor could I myself look upon this man without some emotion, for he seemed to be the identical  person who had picked up the ragged tunic in the lonely wood, and, as a matter of fact, he was!}}
  • (not comparable, biology) Of twins, sharing the same genetic code.
  • (not comparable, mathematics) Exactly equivalent.
  • (comparable, rare) Approximating or approaching exact equivalence.
  • * 1788 , , XLI:
  • The terms of Article 8th are still more identical .
    *

    Usage notes

    * (en-usage-equal) * Adverbs often used with "identical": absolutely, almost, nearly, practically, virtually, substantially.

    Synonyms

    * (bearing full likeness) same * (selfsame) same, selfsame

    Antonyms

    * non-identical * different * distinct

    Derived terms

    * identically * identicalness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (usually, pluralized, chiefly, philosophy) Something which has exactly the same properties as something else.
  • Derived terms

    * indiscernibility of identicals

    References

    * * *

    same

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Not different or other; not another or others; not different as regards self; selfsame; identical.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), Chapter=1 , passage=I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me. I look upon notoriety with the same indifference as on the buttons on a man's shirt-front, or the crest on his note-paper.}}
  • Similar, alike.
  • *
  • They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1935, author= George Goodchild
  • , title=Death on the Centre Court, chapter=1 , passage=She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.}}
  • Used to express the unity of an object or person which has various different descriptions or qualities.
  • A reply of confirmation of identity.
  • * ca. 1606 , (William Shakespeare), (King Lear) , Act V, scene III:
  • ''King Lear: This is a dull sight. Are you not Kent?
    Kent: The same . [http://www.rhymezone.com/r/gwic.cgi?Path=shakespeare/tragedies/kinglear/v_iii//&Word=the+same,
  • w]
  • * 1994 , (Clerks) :
  • ''Dante: Whose house was it?
    ''Blue-Collar Man: Dominick Bambino's.
    ''Randal: "Babyface" Bambino? The gangster?
    Blue-Collar Man: The same . [http://www.whysanity.net/monos/clerks5.html]
    Usage notes
    * This word is usually construed with the (except after demonstratives: "this same.." etc.). This can make it difficult to distinguish between the simple adjective and the adjective used absolutely or pronominally.
    Synonyms
    * (identical) identical, equal, equivalent * (similar) similar, alike
    Antonyms
    * different, other, another
    Derived terms
    * by the same token * of the same stripe * same-blooded * same difference * sameish * samely * sameness * same old same old * same old story * same-sex * self-same

    Pronoun

    (English Pronouns)
  • The identical thing, ditto.
  • Something similar, something of the identical type.
  • * , chapter=5
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose. And the queerer the cure for those ailings the bigger the attraction. A place like the Right Livers' Rest was bound to draw freaks, same as molasses draws flies.}}
  • It or them, without a connotation of similarity.
  • Light valve suspensions and films containing UV absorbers and light valves containing the same (US Patent 5,467,217)
    Methods of selectively distributing data in a computer network and systems using the same (US Patent 7,191,208)
  • It or them, as above, meaning the last object mentioned, mainly as complement: on the same'', ''for the same .
  • My picture/photography blog...kindly give me your reviews on the same .
    Usage notes
    * This word is commonly used as the same .
    Derived terms
    * all the same * one and the same * same to you

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (m), (m), (m), (also (m), (m)), from (etyl) .

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • Together.
  • Statistics

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    Anagrams

    * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l) 200 English basic words 1000 English basic words ----