disparity

Meaning

1. 1nouncountable or uncountableformal

   A large and often unfair difference between two things, especially in income, treatment or opportunity.

   Grammar: Often followed by between or in: the disparity between rich and poor.

   Patterns

   • a disparity between X and Y
   • a disparity in something

   There is a wide disparity between the wages of men and women in the industry.

   The report shows a growing disparity in health outcomes.

   Parents complained about the disparity in funding between the two schools.

Word forms

Common combinations

wide disparity

A wide disparity separates the two regions.

racial disparity

The study examined racial disparity in sentencing.

income disparity

Income disparity has increased over twenty years.

reduce the disparity

The new policy aims to reduce the disparity.

a disparity between

I noticed a disparity between his words and actions.

gender disparity

Gender disparity remains an issue in many boardrooms.

Synonyms and how they differ

gap

Gap is shorter and more common, and it does not carry such a strong hint that the difference is unfair.

inequality

Inequality describes an unfair system, while disparity describes the measured difference between two things.

discrepancy

Discrepancy usually means a mismatch between facts or figures that should agree, not an unfair social difference.

imbalance

Imbalance suggests that something is lopsided and needs correcting, which is close but less formal than disparity.

Opposites

Word family

disparate adjective

so different that they cannot be compared

disparately adverb

in a clearly different way

parity noun

a state of being equal

Commonly confused: disparity or disparate? disparity or desperate?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “disparity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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