Definition
A disparity is a difference big enough to demand an explanation. The word comes from the Latin dispar, 'unequal' — par, 'equal', survives in 'parity' and 'peer' — and it is rarely neutral: where 'difference' merely describes, disparity quietly accuses. Incomes show disparities, health outcomes show disparities, regions show disparities, and in each case the word implies that the two things being compared started from the same floor and should not have ended up this far apart.
Examples
- The disparity between urban and rural incomes has widened over the past decade.
- Researchers documented stark disparities in access to basic healthcare.
- There remains a glaring disparity between the company's promises and its results.
Collocations
income disparity·the disparity between X and Y·regional disparities·a glaring disparity·reduce disparities
Synonyms
gap·imbalance·inequality·gulf·discrepancy
Antonyms
parity·equality·balance
Word family
disparate (adjective)·parity (noun — the opposite state)
In TOEFL & IELTS
An IELTS essay and Task 1 essential: 'a marked disparity between the two figures' outclasses 'a big difference' in chart descriptions, and essays on inequality lean on 'income/regional disparities'. TOEFL social-science passages use 'health disparities' as a technical term. Mind the cousin word 'disparate' (/ˈdɪspərət/ — different in kind), and keep 'parity' ready as its precise opposite.