discrepancy

noun

dis·​crep·​an·​cy di-ˈskre-pən-sē How to pronounce discrepancy (audio)
plural discrepancies
1
: the quality or state of disagreeing or being at variance
2
: an instance of disagreeing or being at variance

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.
Recent Examples on the Web As a result, the film reflects on the discrepancies between one’s interior and exterior world. Savina Petkova, Variety, 16 Mar. 2024 After noticing discrepancies between the handheld detectors and other types of air testing in use in East Palestine, the EPA studied the devices over the summer. Brenda Goodman, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for discrepancy 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'discrepancy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

earlier discrepance in same sense (borrowed from Latin discrepantia, derivative of discrepant-, discrepans, present participle of discrepāre "to differ in sound, be out of tune, be inconsistent") + -ancy — more at discrepant

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of discrepancy was in 1579

Dictionary Entries Near discrepancy

Cite this Entry

“Discrepancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discrepancy. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

discrepancy

noun
dis·​crep·​an·​cy dis-ˈkrep-ən-sē How to pronounce discrepancy (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on discrepancy

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