Revised as of
8 Nov 2022
This Word Confusion is a tricky bugger. The different to is pretty simple, and being a British preference, it’s not a confusion American authors are likely to run into. Unless, of course, one of our characters is English. Mmmm, nothing like complicating things up *grin*.
Different from and different than are MUCH more difficult. I spent more time exploring, tasting, trying out different possibilities, ways of looking at this one. And I gotta confess, I generally have this urge to side with different from. I don’t know if the one feels warmer, more comfortable to me or what. Maybe it’s just easier to drift into using this one.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Different From | Different Than | Different To |
|---|---|---|
Man and Woman Icon courtesy of AnonMoos is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — Woman is different from Man. |
Border USA Mexico by Sgt. 1st Class Gordon Hyde is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — The city of San Diego on the left side of the demarcation is different than the city of Tijuana on the right side. |
 
Upper image, Dog Marking Territory, by Scarleth White [Flickr] is under the CC-BY-2.0 license. The lower image, Cat Climbing Tree by sumomojam from Saitama, Japan, is under the CC-BY-SA-2.1-jp license; both are via Wikimedia Commons. — How a dog sees a tree is different to how a cat sees one. |
| Part of Grammar: | Adjective + Preposition | Adjective + Conjunction | Adjective + Preposition |
| Different is a word of contrast and does not compare. | ||
| Universally accepted | Comparative adjective + different than + clause | British preference |
| Implies exclusion | Implies comparison | |
| Followed by a noun or noun form and/or creates a prepositional phrase
When something differs, it implies another, from which it is distinguished. Preferred by AP Stylebook and Element of Style |
Can be useful for idioms or beginning clauses | Opposite of similar to |
| Examples: | ||
| These shirts are different from the ones I bought last year.
My birthday this year was different from what it was last year. A Lotus Esprit is different from a Volkswagen. Conservatives are different from liberals. My choice of clothing is different from yours. This is different from that. |
This experience was different than he thought it would be.
My birthday this year was different than it was last year. The event turned out different than what I expected. The college is different than it was when I went to school. |
In this respect the Royal Academy is no different to any other major museum.
A tree looks completely different to cats than it does to dogs. |
| History of the Word: | ||
| The first known use was in 1590. | The first known use was in 1644. | The first known use was in 1560. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Different From, Than, To
Apple Dictionary.com
“Different From, Than, or To.” Oxford Dictionaries. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/different-from-than-or-to>.
“Different From vs. Different Than.” GrammarBook.com. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/adjectives-adverbs/different-from-vs-different-than/>.
Good, Ed. “‘Different From’ vs. ‘Different Than’.” Grammar.com. <http://www.grammar.com/different-from-vs-different-than>.
“Is It “Different Than” Or “Different From”? Dictionary.com. 1 March 2016. Web. n.d. <http://dictionary.reference.com/help/faq/language/g02.html>.
Maddox, Maeve. “Different from, Different to, Different than.” Daily Writing Tips. <http://www.dailywritingtips.com/different-from-different-to-different-than/>.
Pinterest Photo Credits
Cropped and faded at the top, Man Standing in Grass is under the CC0 1.0 license, via VisualHunt.
