discrepancy

[ dih-skrep-uhn-see ]

noun

, plural dis·crep·an·cies

1. the state or quality of being discrepant or in disagreement, as by displaying an unexpected or unacceptable difference; inconsistency:

   The discrepancy between the evidence and his account of what happened led to his arrest.

   Synonyms: variance, contrariety, discordance, disagreement, incongruity

2. an instance of difference or inconsistency:

   There are certain discrepancies between the two versions of the story.

   Synonyms: variation

discrepancy

/ dɪˈskrɛpənsɪ /

noun

1. a conflict or variation, as between facts, figures, or claims

Usage

Discrepancy is sometimes wrongly used where disparity is meant. A discrepancy exists between things which ought to be the same; it can be small but is usually significant. A disparity is a large difference between measurable things such as age, rank, or wages

Word History and Origins

Origin of discrepancy¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin discrepantia, from discrepant- (stem of discrepāns “sounding discordant”; discrepant ) + -ia -y ³( def )

Synonym Study

See difference.

Example Sentences

A buyer, of course, can walk away if the appraisal reveals a massive discrepancy.

From Voice of San Diego

The discrepancy can be chalked up to a decline in the average selling price of the products.

From TechCrunch

There’s going to be discrepancies if you deal with 100 of something.

From Ozy

The PPP loan program, however, has faced discrepancies in how loans were allocated across race and gender.

From Fortune

Those additional terms are expected to be too small to account for the discrepancy.

From Science News

Tweedy had gone online to research a small discrepancy in a pair of Mormon texts.

From The Daily Beast

"The discrepancy may have been that we really don't see black or white among our colleagues," Zoll said.

From The Daily Beast

By no means does this discrepancy indicate that Barnard is necessarily safer for women.

From The Daily Beast

But there is a discrepancy in the way masturbation is discussed in regards to men and women.

From The Daily Beast

He claims in his complaint that the agency never clarified the discrepancy nor did it pay Shanklin the $35,000.

From The Daily Beast

How, then, are we to explain this extraordinary discrepancy between human power and resulting human happiness?

From Project Gutenberg

There was, of course, a ridiculous discrepancy between this latter demand and the magnitude of his fortune.

From Project Gutenberg

By this method a line can be reserved for each hand, and any discrepancy in the scores at once rectified.

From Project Gutenberg

Westphal attributes this strange discrepancy to the accidental displacing of some words in the MSS.

From Project Gutenberg

This consideration brings the two places into such close agreement that any hypothesis involving discrepancy is most improbable.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• difference
• disparity
• distinction
• divergence
• error
• inconsistency
• miscalculation
• variation