Home / Synonyms / concentrate vs mergeNo. 0243

concentrate vs merge

Concentrate and merge both gather things together, with a difference in what results. Concentrate is to draw scattered things into one dense point, or to focus. Merge is for separate things to combine into a single whole, losing their separate identity. Concentrate packs things densely at a point; merge fuses them into one.

Quick rule
gather scattered things densely at one point→concentrate
combine separate things into one whole→merge
concentrate

Fig. 1a — concentrate.

/ˈkɑːnsntreɪt//ˈkɒnsntreɪt/·verb, noun
vs
merge

Fig. 1b — merge.

/mɜːrdʒ//mɜːdʒ/·verb

Both bring things together, but to different ends. Concentrate, from con- 'together' and centrum 'centre', packs scattered things densely into one place — light, forces, attention — which grows intense there. Merge, from mergere 'to plunge', combines separate things into one whole. A lens concentrates light to a burning point; two lanes merge into one. One gathers to a dense point; the other fuses two things into a single thing.

01What each means

concentrate

To concentrate is to gather toward one centre until it is strong — from the Latin com- 'together' and centrum 'centre'. Scattered forces concentrate at a border; a reader concentrates on a page, pulling stray attention to one point; boiling concentrates a juice by driving off its water. As a noun, a concentrate is what is left when the water is gone: the same substance, no longer spread thin. To consolidate holdings is close, but concentrate keeps the sense of intensity growing as things gather.

merge

To merge is for two separate things to come together into one — lanes of traffic merge, companies merge, datasets merge. From the Latin mergere 'to plunge or dip', it once meant to sink in, and still carries that sense of one thing taken into another until they are no longer separate. When two firms merge they form a single company; where two rivers merge, one name usually wins. To merge is a broader, often deliberate move than to coalesce, and a close relative of consolidate.

02At a glance
concentratemerge
Meaninggather densely to one point; focuscombine into a single whole
Addsdensity or intensityone thing where there were two
The partspacked close, still manybecome one, identity lost
Often withlight, power, attention, effortlanes, companies, files, colours
Nounconcentrationa merger / merging
ExampleConcentrate the troops here.The two lanes merge ahead.
03How to remember

Ask whether things grow dense or become one. Concentrate packs scattered things into one intense point — the lens gathering light until it burns. Merge fuses separate things into a single whole — two lanes becoming one line. If things are gathered and made dense at a point, that is concentrate; if separate things combine into one, that is merge.

04In use

concentrate

  • iThe general concentrated his forces at the crossing.
  • iiA lens concentrates the sun's rays onto one point.
  • iiiConcentrate your effort on the hardest questions.

merge

  • iThe two lanes merge just after the junction.
  • iiThe two firms merged into a single company.
  • iiiMerge the two documents into one file.

Concentrate packs scattered things densely at a point, and they stay many; merge combines separate things into one whole where identities are lost. Concentrate also means to focus the mind, a sense merge lacks. Both are transitive, but concentrate takes 'on', 'in' or 'at', while merge takes 'with' or 'into'.

05Asked
What is the difference between concentrate and merge?
Concentrate is to draw scattered things into one dense point, or to focus, while merge is for separate things to combine into a single whole, losing their separate identity. Concentrate packs things densely at a point; merge fuses them into one. In the scenes above, a lens gathers light to a single burning dot, while two lanes of traffic become one line.
Can concentrate and merge be used interchangeably?
Not really. Concentrate gathers things densely at a point, where they stay many and grow intense; merge combines them into one whole where the parts are lost. You concentrate forces at a border; you merge two companies into one. And concentrate has a mental sense — to focus — that merge never carries.
Does concentrate mean to focus?
In its most common everyday sense, yes — to concentrate is to give something your full attention, as in 'concentrate on your work'. That mental sense is absent from merge, which stays about separate things combining into one. The two words share only the spatial idea of bringing things together, one to a dense point, the other into a single whole.
What does concentrate mean in chemistry, and merge in business?
In chemistry, to concentrate a solution is to make it denser by removing water, giving a concentrate with a high concentration of the substance. In business, a merger is when two companies combine into one new firm, sharing ownership. So each has a precise sense in its own field — one about density in a solution, the other about combining two firms into one.
Which prepositions go with concentrate and merge?
Concentrate takes on for focus (concentrate on the task) and in or at for gathering in a place (concentrated in the capital, at the border). Merge takes with (merge with a rival) or into (merge into one). So you concentrate effort on something or forces at a place, while separate things merge with each other or into one whole.
Can concentrate and merge describe power or wealth?
Yes, and closely. Wealth or power concentrates when it gathers densely in a few hands (wealth concentrated at the top), and interests merge when separate holdings combine into one. Writers often use them together — capital concentrates as firms merge — since a wave of mergers can concentrate an industry into a few large players.
What are the noun forms of concentrate and merge?
Concentration and merger. Concentration also names the strength of a solution and the act of focusing the mind, senses merger does not share. A merger names a deliberate combination, especially of companies, while concentration stays about density, gathering and focus.
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concentrate — full entrymerge — full entry← All synonyms