- In comparison of
- Comparison Com*par"i*son (? or ?), n. [F. comparaison, L.
comparatio. See 1st {Compare}.]
1. The act of comparing; an examination of two or more
objects with the view of discovering the resemblances or
differences; relative estimate.
[1913 Webster]
As sharp legal practitioners, no class of human beings can bear comparison with them. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
The miracles of our Lord and those of the Old Testament afford many interesting points of comparison. --Trench. [1913 Webster]
2. The state of being compared; a relative estimate; also, a state, quality, or relation, admitting of being compared; as, to bring a thing into comparison with another; there is no comparison between them. [1913 Webster]
3. That to which, or with which, a thing is compared, as being equal or like; illustration; similitude. [1913 Webster]
Whereto shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what comparison shall we compare it? --Mark iv. 30. [1913 Webster]
4. (Gram.) The modification, by inflection or otherwise, which the adjective and adverb undergo to denote degrees of quality or quantity; as, little, less, least, are examples of comparison. [1913 Webster]
5. (Rhet.) A figure by which one person or thing is compared to another, or the two are considered with regard to some property or quality, which is common to them both; e.g., the lake sparkled like a jewel. [1913 Webster]
6. (Phren.) The faculty of the reflective group which is supposed to perceive resemblances and contrasts. [1913 Webster]
{Beyond comparison}, so far superior as to have no likeness, or so as to make comparison needless.
{In comparison of}, {In comparison with}, as compared with; in proportion to. [Archaic] ``So miserably unpeopled in comparison of what it once was.'' --Addison.
{Comparison of hands} (Law), a mode of proving or disproving the genuineness of a signature or writing by comparing it with another proved or admitted to be genuine, in order to ascertain whether both were written by the same person. --Bouvier. --Burrill. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
