discrepancy
Americannoun
-
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
-
an instance of difference or inconsistency.
There are certain discrepancies between the two versions of the story.
- Synonyms:
- variation
noun
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
Synonym Usage
See difference.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of discrepancy
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin discrepantia, from discrepant- (stem of discrepāns “sounding discordant”; see discrepant) + -ia -y 3 ( def. )
Explanation
A discrepancy is a lack of agreement or balance. If there is a discrepancy between the money you earned and the number on your paycheck, you should complain to your boss. There is a discrepancy when there is a difference between two things that should be alike. For example, there can be a wide discrepancy or a slight discrepancy between two objects, stories, or facts. The noun discrepancy is from Latin discrepare "to sound differently," from the prefix dis- "from" plus crepare "to rattle, creak."
Vocabulary lists containing discrepancy
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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Unbroken
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But after hard work over the weekend Russell made significant inroads into that issue, and Mercedes admitted they were still seeing a straight-line discrepancy that they could not yet explain.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
The reason for the discrepancy is that, over the past few years, the S&P 500 has become increasingly top-heavy as shares of the largest companies pulled ahead.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
That discrepancy suggested that a more detailed explanation was needed.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
Drawn to the continuum of pregnancy, birth and parenting, she noticed a discrepancy in the literature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
When pressed to explain the discrepancy between his hypothetical antislavery position and his actual dedication to self-imposed paralysis, he tended to offer several different answers.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Property, the largest concentration of global wealth, is overvalued by up to 50%, using price-to-affordability metrics, although there are significant locational discrepancies.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
God forbid that comes true, but if it does, this record is proof that Madonna is her discrepancies: She is this, and she is also that.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
On the issue of seeming discrepancies in claims for travel and hotel accommodation by the MP, Walker said he had received "detailed information" that led him to conclude they were due to "dating errors".
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
In the case of Google’s invoice-validation agent, the company says the system is working so well that there is a backlog of flagged discrepancies that the operations team needs to take to suppliers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
These nature-nurture discrepancies were addressed in a 1998 book by a little-known textbook author named Judith Rich Harris.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.