#15 Crammer

I have always been confused about the difference between “compare with” and “compare to”. I used to think they are substitutes for each other and I could either of them, which is wrong. I looked up the usage of these two phrases on the Internet and here they are.

According to the book Strunk and White:

To compare to is to point out or imply resemblances between objects regarded as essentially of a different order;

To compare with is mainly to point out differences between objects regarded as essentially of the same order.

According to AP Stylebook:

To compare to when the intent is to assert, without the need for elaboration, that two or more items are similar

To compare with when juxtaposing two or more items to illustrate similarities and/or: differences.

So, basically, the books are showing that “compare to” shows the similarity between the things you are comparing while “compare with” tells the differences between things are as important as the similarities.

Here are some examples on how to use “compare to “ and “compare with”.

1.       Thus, life has been compared to a pilgrimage, to a drama, to a battle; Congress may be compared with the British Parliament. Paris has been compared to ancient Athens; it may be compared with modern London.

2.       She compared her work for women’s rights to Susan B Anthony’s campaign for women’s suffrage.

3.       His time was 2:11:10 compared with 2:14 for his closest competitor.

PS, there is one more thing that need to know about is when “compare” is used intransitively, it should be followed by “with”.