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Preference vs Competence - What's the difference?

preference | competence |

As nouns the difference between preference and competence

is that preference is the selection of one thing or person over others while competence is the quality or state of being competent, i.e. able or suitable for a general role.

As a verb preference

is to give preferential treatment to; to give a preference to.

preference

Alternative forms

* (archaic)

Noun

(Preferans) (en noun)
  • The selection of one thing or person over others.
  • The option to so select, and the one selected.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-14, author=(Jonathan Freedland)
  • , volume=189, issue=1, page=18, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Obama's once hip brand is now tainted , passage=Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much.}}
  • The state of being preferred over others.
  • A strong liking or personal valuation.
  • A preferential bias; partiality; discrimination.
  • Preferans, a card game, principally played in Eastern Europe.
  • Verb

    (preferenc)
  • (US) To give preferential treatment to; to give a preference to.
  • See also

    * preferences ----

    competence

    English

    Noun

  • (uncountable) The quality or state of being competent, i.e. able or suitable for a general role.
  • * 2005 , Lies Sercu and Ewa Bandura, Foreign Language Teachers and Intercultural Competence: An International Investigation :
  • Teachers are now required to teach intercultural communicative competence .
  • (countable) The quality or state of being able or suitable for a particular task; the quality or state of being competent for a particular task.
  • * 1961 , National Council for Elementary Science (U.S.), Science Education :
  • What professional competences do science teachers need?
  • A sustainable income.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • Reason's whole pleasure, all the joys of sense, / Lie in three words — health, peace, and competence .
  • * 1811 , Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility , chapter 17
  • “money can only give happiness where there is nothing else to give it. Beyond a competence , it can afford no real satisfaction, as far as mere self is concerned.”
  • (countable) In law, the legal authority to deal with a matter.
  • That question is out with the competence of this court and must be taken to a higher court.

    Synonyms

    * ability * competency * nous * savoir-faire * knack (colloq.) * aptitude * See also

    Antonyms

    * inability * ineptitude * incompetence

    References

    *