Meaning & use
discrepancy
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Meaning
nouncountableformal
A noticeable difference between two things that should be the same or should agree.
Grammar: Countable: there was a discrepancy, several discrepancies.
Patterns
- a discrepancy between things
- a discrepancy in something
The accountant noticed a discrepancy between the two sets of figures.
There is a major discrepancy in the witnesses' stories.
Officials could not explain the discrepancy in the budget.
Word forms
| plural | discrepancies |
|---|
Common combinations
- a glaring discrepancy
- There was a glaring discrepancy in the expense report.
- resolve a discrepancy
- The bank resolved the discrepancy within a day.
- explain the discrepancy
- He could not explain the discrepancy between his two accounts.
- discrepancy between
- The discrepancy between the two prices surprised us.
- significant discrepancy
- A significant discrepancy appeared in the survey results.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inconsistency
- Inconsistency often describes statements or behavior that contradict, while discrepancy is usually about facts or figures not matching.
- difference
- Difference is a plain word, and unlike discrepancy it does not suggest something is wrong.
- mismatch
- Mismatch is more informal and often describes things that do not fit together.
- gap
- Gap suggests missing amount or space, whereas discrepancy suggests conflicting details.
Opposites
Word family
- discrepant adjective
- differing or not matching
- discrepantly adverb
- in a differing way
- crepitate verb
- unrelated in meaning but similar in form, to crackle
Commonly confused: discrepancy or disparity?
discrepancy vs disparity
Disparity is a difference that often shows unfairness, such as in pay, while a discrepancy is a mismatch in facts or numbers.
Practice
The auditor found a ___ between the sales records and the bank statements.
Choose one answer.
Discrepancy is the mismatch between records. Disagreement and dispute describe arguments between people, and discretion means careful judgment.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “discrepancy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.