Word.ws English Dictionary

distinctions without differences

distinctions without differences is the plural of distinction without a difference.

Meaning of distinction without a difference

Noun

distinction without a difference (plural distinctions without a difference or distinctions without differences)

  1. (set phrase) A linguistic or conceptual distinction which is of no practical importance or which has no effect on meaning; a perceived difference where there is no actual difference.
    • "'The Active Inquirer' is the present name, though when we supported Mr. Adams it was called 'The Active Enquirer,' with an E."
      "A distinction without a difference; I like that," interrupted Captain Truck.1831, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 14, in Homeward Bound

Questions about distinctions without differences

What is distinctions without differences the plural of?
Distinctions without differences is the plural of distinction without a difference.

Words near distinctions without differences in the dictionary

  1. distinctional
  2. distinctioning
  3. distinctionless
  4. distinctions
  5. distinctions without a difference
  6. distinctions without differences
  7. distinctive
  8. distinctive paper
  9. distinctive papers
  10. distinctively
  11. distinctiveness

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: distinctions without differences (page history and authors); distinction without a difference (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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