Definition
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.
Examples
- Auditors found a discrepancy between the recorded stock and the actual count.
- There is a striking discrepancy between what the brochure promised and what guests received.
- The discrepancy in the data turned out to be an anomaly no one had logged.
Collocations
a discrepancy between·a glaring discrepancy·account for the discrepancy·a statistical discrepancy
Synonyms
inconsistency·disparity·mismatch·variance·incongruity
Antonyms
agreement·consistency·correspondence
Word family
discrepant (adjective)
In TOEFL & 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.