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discrepancy

/dɪsˈkrepənsi//dɪsˈkrepənsi/·noun
a difference between two things that should match or agree
Fig. 1 — Two identical pendulum clocks hang side by side — same model, same make — so they ought to keep exactly the same time.
01Definition

A discrepancy is a mismatch where agreement was expected — the gap between two accounts that ought to tally. The figures in a report show a discrepancy; a witness's story has discrepancies with the evidence. The word does not merely note that two things differ, as a disparity in wealth does; it implies they were supposed to be the same, so the difference is a problem demanding explanation. A single unreconciled line can flag a discrepancy in the whole.

02In use
  • iAuditors found a discrepancy between the recorded stock and the actual figure on the shelves.
  • iiThere is a striking discrepancy between what the brochure promised and what guests received.
  • iiiThe discrepancy in the data turned out to be an anomaly no one had logged.
03Collocations
  • a discrepancy between
  • a glaring discrepancy
  • account for the discrepancy
  • a statistical discrepancy

Family discrepant (adjective)

04Relations

=inconsistency, disparity, mismatch, variance, incongruity

≠agreement, consistency, correspondence

05Compared
PairThe difference
discrepancy vs anomalybreaks the expected pattern, cause unknown → anomaly; two things that should match but don't → discrepancy.
discrepancy vs disparitya discrepancy is a mismatch that should not be there; a disparity is a large imbalance, usually inequality.
06TOEFL & IELTS

Common in TOEFL/IELTS passages on research and reporting, where authors must 'account for the discrepancy' between prediction and result. In IELTS Writing Task 1, a 'discrepancy between' two figures is precise when numbers that should align do not. Distinguish it from 'disparity' (a difference in amount or status, like inequality) — a discrepancy is a difference that signals something is wrong.

07Asked
Is it a discrepancy in or a discrepancy between?
Both, with different geometry. Between introduces the two things that fail to tally: a discrepancy between the recorded stock and the count. In locates the mismatch inside one body of material: a discrepancy in the figures, in his testimony. If you can name both sides, choose between; if you are pointing at the report that contains the problem, choose in.
Is every difference a discrepancy?
No — a discrepancy is a difference that was not supposed to exist. Two brands differing in price is a difference; two copies of the same invoice differing is a discrepancy. The scene above turns on exactly this: two identical clocks are built to agree, so the small gap that opens between their hands is not variety but a fault demanding explanation.
Is a discrepancy the same as a disparity?
No — a disparity is a large, often unfair gap in amount or status, while a discrepancy is a mismatch between things meant to agree; the full contrast is drawn on the discrepancy vs disparity page in the 'Compared' list above.
What is the difference between a discrepancy and an inconsistency?
An inconsistency is most naturally a clash inside one thing — a story that contradicts itself, a policy applied unevenly. A discrepancy runs between two records that should match. A witness whose account changes over time is inconsistent; a witness whose account clashes with the camera footage has a discrepancy to explain. Inconsistency usually questions the source; a discrepancy flags the comparison.
What does it mean to account for a discrepancy?
To explain where the gap came from until the two records tally again — the bookkeeping sense of account is literal here. Auditors trace a discrepancy to a typo, a missing receipt, a timing difference; what they cannot explain stays on the books as unaccounted for, and 'unaccounted-for discrepancy' is the phrase that starts investigations.