differ
dif·fer/ˈdɪfɚ/verb, noun
differ is spelled D-I-F-F-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (dif·fer). It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, differ means “Not to have the same traits or characteristics; to be unalike or distinct” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in differ?
| Letters | 6: D-I-F-F-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: dif·fer |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,784th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is differ?
Differ appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce differ?
- UK /ˈdɪfə/
- US /ˈdɪfɚ/
Differ has 2 syllables, split dif·fer in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-differ.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with differ?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as differ from its last stressed vowel (/ɪfəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of differ
- differs present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- differing participle, present
- differed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does differ mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
Not to have the same traits or characteristics; to be unalike or distinct.
These shoes only differ from those ones in having slightly longer laces.
- 2
To be separated in quantity.
The numbers 3 and 21 differ by 18.
- 3
To have diverging opinions, disagree.
May 11, 1827, George Canning, Changes in the Administration I differ from the honourable baronet on both these subjects
noun
- 1
A program that diffs, a diff.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Differ in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | différer |
| German | sich unterscheiden, abweichen, differieren, verschieden sein, nicht übereinstimmen , unterschiedlicher Meinung sein |
| Portuguese | diferir , divergir |
| Spanish | diferir, diferecer, distar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does differ come from?
From Middle English differren, from Old French differer, from Latin differō (“carry apart, put off, defer; differ”), from dis- (“apart”) + ferō (“carry, bear”). Compare Ancient Greek διαφέρω (diaphérō).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).