Compare To or Compare With? The Difference Is Real
To compare is to examine things for similarity or difference. The choice between compare to and compare with changes what you are actually saying.
Compare means to set two things side by side. The prepositions matter more than most people realise: compare to likens, compare with measures. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day is a compliment; comparing you with a summer's day would be an audit.
- To examine for similarity and difference. *Compare the two contracts.*
- To liken. *He compared the city to a machine.*
- To be as good as. *Nothing compares to home cooking.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | compare | Compare the prices. |
| Noun | comparison | A fair comparison. |
| Adjective | comparable | Comparable results. |
| Adjective | comparative | A comparative study. |
| Adverb | comparatively | Comparatively cheap. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Compare this year's figures with last year's.Examining differences — with is right.
- Critics compared her to Callas.Likening, not measuring — to is right.
- The results are not comparable.Cannot fairly be set against each other.
To, with, and beyond
- Compare to — assert a likeness: *compared the noise to thunder*
- Compare with — examine both similarities and differences: *compare the two models with each other*
- Compared with — the usual form when giving figures
- Beyond compare — so good that comparison fails
- In everyday speech to is taking over, but careful writing still keeps the distinction
From Latin *comparare*, to place together, from *com* (with) and *par* (equal). The idea of equality sits inside the word: to compare is to treat two things as being on the same footing long enough to look at them.
Is compare to ever wrong?
Not wrong, but imprecise when you mean measurement. Reports and data comparisons should use compared with.
Comparable — where is the stress?
Traditionally COM-parable, on the first syllable. Com-PARE-able is common and now widely accepted.