/ ˈdɪfrənt; NAmE / adjective
1.
different (from / to / than sb/sth) not the same as sb/sth; not like sb/sth else :
American English is significantly different from British English.
( BrE )
It's very different to what I'm used to.
( NAmE )
He saw he was no different than anybody else.
It's different now than it was a year ago.
People often give very different accounts of the same event.
My son's terribly untidy; my daughter's no different .
OPP similar
2.
[ only before noun ] separate and individual :
She offered us five different kinds of cake.
The programme was about customs in different parts of the country.
They are sold in many different colours.
I looked it up in three different dictionaries.
3.
[ not usually before noun ] ( informal ) unusual; not like other people or things :
'Did you enjoy the play?' 'Well, it was certainly different!'
► dif·fer·ent·ly adverb :
Boys and girls may behave differently.
The male bird has a differently shaped head.
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IDIOMS
- a different kettle of fish
—more at complexion , know verb , matter noun , pull verb , sing verb , tell
••
BRITISH / AMERICAN
different from / to / than
Different from is the most common structure in both BrE and NAmE . Different to is also used in BrE :
Paul's very different from / to his brother.
•
This visit is very different from / to last time.
In NAmE people also say different than :
Your trains are different than ours.
•
You look different than before.
Before a clause you can also use different from (and different than in NAmE ):
She looked different from what I'd expected.
•
She looked different than (what) I'd expected.
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : via Old French from Latin different- carrying away, differing, from the verb differre , from dis- from, away + ferre bring, carry.