What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Karma vs Comeuppance - What's the difference?

karma | comeuppance |

As nouns the difference between karma and comeuppance

is that karma is karma while comeuppance is a negative outcome which is justly deserved.

karma

English

Noun

  • (Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism) The sum total of a person's actions, which determine the person's next incarnation in samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth.
  • A force or law of nature which causes one to reap what one sows; destiny; fate.
  • (uncommon) A distinctive feeling, aura, or atmosphere.
  • * 2001 , Inside the Hits , page 307:
  • That means everything from lighting to the vibes, the karma of the room.
  • * 2006 , Chase Sargent, From Buddy to Boss , page 219:
  • How many times when you have been in a bar have you felt that a confrontation was building up, even without extensive verbal exchanges? Sometimes you can feel the karma or energy of a place change, and you should not ignore that
  • * 2010 , R.L. Roach, Irish Lie , page 135:
  • On the way to Lancaster, which was about an hour and a half from Philly, John felt the karma .

    Derived terms

    * karmic

    comeuppance

    English

    Alternative forms

    * comeupance

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A negative outcome which is justly deserved.
  • * 1883 , Albion Winegar Tourgée, ed., The Continent; an illustrated weekly magazine , v 3.
  • So when Brown's second wife turned out a reg'lar ternygrunt, I wa'n't in no wise upset, for he needed a comeuppance , an' he got it in her.
  • * 1918 , , ch 10.
  • The Sunday edition of the principal morning paper even expressed some bitterness under the heading, "Gilded Youths of the Fin-de-Siecle"--this was considered the knowing phrase of the time, especially for Sunday supplements--and there is no doubt that from certain references in this bit of writing some people drew the conclusion that Mr. George Amberson Minafer had not yet got his comeuppance , a postponement still irritating.
  • * 1958', “Yankee '''Comeuppance in a Lousy Inning”, in '' , v 45, n 15 (October 13), p 34.
  • The Yankees got their comeuppance in Milwaukee when the Braves piled up a record score for the first inning of a World Series game.
  • * 2004 , Peter Hunt, Sheila G. Bannister Ray, eds., International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature , p 862.
  • in the anonymous A New Gift for Children (1750), perhaps America's first secular storybook, and its tales of children who are good and merit rewards, and tales of children who are otherwise and receive their comeuppances .
  • * '>citation
  • Usage notes

    A comeuppance is invariably a bad experience. Even so, some dictionaries leave open the possibility of a positive outcome, either explicitly in the definition or by using synonyms such as (just deserts), which can be positive.

    Synonyms

    * (outcome that is justly deserved) just deserts