Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Inequality; disparity.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Want of parity, equivalence, or correspondence; inequality; disproportion; difference of degree, rank, excellence, amount, quantity, etc.; quantitative diversity.
  • noun Numerical unevenness; indivisibility into two equal portions.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Inequality; disparity; disproportion; difference of degree, rank, excellence, number, etc.
  • noun Lack of comparison, correspondence, or suitableness; incongruity.
  • noun rare Indivisibility into equal parts; oddness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun inequality
  • noun disparity

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin imparitās, from Latin impār, not equal : in-, not; see in– + pār, equal; see perə- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • All he can do is throw his hands up and curse his visual imparity.

    Archive 2008-02-01 2008

  • All he can do is throw his hands up and curse his visual imparity.

    Brewery Profile – Furthermore Beer, Part II 2008

  • And until life abroad is valued equally with life at home, imparity over recognition of different genocides will not only continue, but genocide itself will.

    Worthy and Unworthy Victims: The Armenian Genocide 2007

  • One of the most chilling comments to me came from Alan Greenspan today speaking in London suggesting this is just a painful process, but, nonetheless, a historical imparity.

    CNN Transcript Jan 26, 2004 2004

  • She hath turned away from God her Savior, and hath yielded her members servants to imparity and iniquity; she bath forgotten me, and gone after her lover, by whom she shall not profit.

    The World's Best Orations, Vol. 1 (of 10) Various

  • The arrangement, moreover, serves to accentuate unnecessarily the undeniable imparity of

    Studies in Literature and History Alfred Comyn Lyall 1873

  • On the whole, this custom has about the same disadvantages and advantages which Warton points out as resulting from the four rhymes of a Spenserian stanza; -- the advantages, -- picturesqueness, ingenuity, discovery of new beauties: the disadvantages, -- art not concealed by art, tautology, imparity of similitudes, a caricature of typology, painful and affected elaboration.

    Hymns of the Eastern Church 1818-1866 1866

  • And observing that five was the antient conjugal or wedding number, he proceeds to a speculation which I shall give in his own words; “The antient numerists made out the conjugal number by two and three, the first parity and imparity, the active and passive digits, the material and formal principles in generative societies.”

    Christian Morals 1605-1682 1863

  • Sibyll, between us there are not imparity and obstacle.

    The Last of the Barons — Complete Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton 1838

  • Sibyll, between us there are not imparity and obstacle.

    The Last of the Barons — Volume 08 Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton 1838

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