discrepancy
noun
dis·crep·an·cy
di-ˈskre-pən-sē 
plural discrepancies
1
: the quality or state of disagreeing or being at variance
2
: an instance of disagreeing or being at variance
Synonyms
Examples of discrepancy in a Sentence
Dr. Derman, who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs and became managing director, was a forerunner of the many physicists and other scientists who have flooded Wall Street in recent years, moving from a world in which a discrepancy of a few percentage points in a measurement can mean a Nobel Prize or unending mockery to a world in which a few percent one way can land you in jail and a few percent the other way can win you your own private Caribbean island.
—
Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2009
Why the difference? Why are some individuals so outwardly altered by time and others not? Or, in other words, why is there often a discrepancy between chronological age and biological age?
—Time, 17 Oct. 2005
If an article is on one machine but not the other, a copy is made to eliminate the discrepancy.
—Simson Garfinkel, Technology Review, November 2001
The discrepancy can't be written off simply as lack of data, because it shows up in one of the best-studied periods in Earth's history …
—Tim Appenzeller, Science, 12 Feb. 1993
Discrepancies in the firm's financial statements led to an investigation.
There were discrepancies between their accounts of the accident.
Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2009
Why the difference? Why are some individuals so outwardly altered by time and others not? Or, in other words, why is there often a discrepancy between chronological age and biological age?
—Time, 17 Oct. 2005
If an article is on one machine but not the other, a copy is made to eliminate the discrepancy.
—Simson Garfinkel, Technology Review, November 2001
The discrepancy can't be written off simply as lack of data, because it shows up in one of the best-studied periods in Earth's history …
—Tim Appenzeller, Science, 12 Feb. 1993
Discrepancies in the firm's financial statements led to an investigation.
There were discrepancies between their accounts of the accident.
Recent Examples on the Web
Van Rijswijk suggested the discrepancy across the various jurisdictions is likely to leave European banks at a disadvantage.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 21 Jan. 2025
Analysts all week noted the Bills’ 25-point loss in Week 4, their size discrepancies against Ravens tailback Derrick Henry, the difficulties in corralling all-galaxy quarterback Lamar Jackson.
—Tim Graham, The Athletic, 20 Jan. 2025
Those using narrow definitions and an investigative approach would deem the situation not sexist if the pay discrepancy was not purposefully inflicted.
—Jessi Streib, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
There was, however, a notable discrepancy between Lynch’s international standing and his domestic reputation: none of his films is featured in the American Film Institute’s most recent ranking of the 100 greatest movies, published in 2007.
—Stephen Galloway, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for discrepancy 
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Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 21 Jan. 2025
Analysts all week noted the Bills’ 25-point loss in Week 4, their size discrepancies against Ravens tailback Derrick Henry, the difficulties in corralling all-galaxy quarterback Lamar Jackson.
—Tim Graham, The Athletic, 20 Jan. 2025
Those using narrow definitions and an investigative approach would deem the situation not sexist if the pay discrepancy was not purposefully inflicted.
—Jessi Streib, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
There was, however, a notable discrepancy between Lynch’s international standing and his domestic reputation: none of his films is featured in the American Film Institute’s most recent ranking of the 100 greatest movies, published in 2007.
—Stephen Galloway, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for discrepancy
Dictionary Entries Near discrepancy
Cite this Entry
“Discrepancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discrepancy. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
discrepancy
noun
dis·crep·an·cy
dis-ˈkrep-ən-sē
plural discrepancies
1
: the quality or state of being different : disagreement
a great discrepancy between the two reports
2
: something that is different or that disagrees
discrepancies in the firm's financial statements
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