Collocations for difference - noun

big, broad, considerable, dramatic, enormous, great, huge, large, major, profound, radical, real, sharp, substantial, vast, wide
A little extra care makes a big difference.
I noticed a real difference in his attitude.

basic, essential, fundamental
crucial, important, key, main, significant
A small number of additional jobs can make a crucial difference to economic conditions.
We found no significant difference between the two groups.

clear, distinct, marked, notable, noticeable, observed, obvious, striking
There is a striking difference between eastern and western Europe.

apparent
minor, slight, small, subtle
potential
qualitative, statistical
national, regional
age, class, cultural, ethnic, gender, genetic, physical, psychological, racial, sex, social
historical, ideological, political
structural
temperature, time
What's the time difference between New York and Tokyo?

make
The new central heating has made an enormous difference to the house.
What difference does it make if he doesn't have a car?

mean
One tiny mistake when you're climbing could mean the difference between life and death.

emphasize, exaggerate, focus on, highlight, stress, underline
We should be focusing on what we have in common rather than emphasizing our differences.

appreciate, be aware of, detect, feel, find, know, note, notice, observe, perceive, recognize, see, spot, tell
I found very little difference in price.
Only an expert would know the difference between the male and the female.
Can you spot the difference between these two photos?
It's difficult to tell the difference between butterflies and moths.

understand
explain, illustrate
examine, explore, look at
The study explores the differences between the way girls and boys talk.

compare
demonstrate, exhibit (formal), indicate, reveal, show
The questionnaire showed vast differences in what kind of product people want.

mark, reflect
Our different attitudes to life reflect the differences in our backgrounds.

be, lie
The difference lies in the way the fruit is prepared.

arise (from sth), exist
The differences in size arise from the amount of sunshine each plant gets.

explain sth, reflect sth, suggest sth

difference among
There are few important policy differences among the main parties.

difference between
There's a big difference between reading about skiing and doing it yourself.

difference from
He was very aware of his difference from the other children.

difference in
The difference in price is not very significant.

difference of
a crucial difference of emphasis

difference with
There is one key difference with the earlier version of the software.
The difference with this information service is that it's free.

a … with a difference
If you want a travel destination with a difference, come to Iceland.

all the difference in the world
There's all the difference in the world between choosing to do something and being forced to do it.

a great deal of difference, a lot of difference
The extra money will make a lot of difference to us.

make all the difference
Just five minutes' exercise a day could make all the difference.

no difference, not much difference
There's not much difference between baseball and softball.

pay
If you decide on the more expensive model, you can bring this one back and pay the difference.

make up
He didn't have enough money, but his aunt agreed to make up the difference.

pocket
He sold the car for more than he'd paid and pocketed the difference.

split (figurative)
I wanted to leave early and Ian wanted to leave late, so we split the difference and left at noon.

irreconcilable, major, serious, sharp
minor, slight
outstanding
These talks aim to resolve the outstanding differences between the two sides.

have
They have had some minor differences, but in general they get on well together.

make up (BrE), patch up, put aside, reconcile, resolve, settle
We're going to get the two sides together to see if they can't settle their differences.

arise, emerge, occur
Differences may arise when the young people do not have the same expectations as their parents.

remain
Although the talks were generally successful, differences remain between the groups.

difference as to, difference over
There were some differences as to how to deal with the crisis.

a difference of opinion
She and Luke had a difference of opinion over how much money they should spend.

have your differences
Like any married couple, we have our differences.