difference vs distinction

distinction vs difference

difference and distinction both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
difference	Yes	No	No	No
distinction	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, distinction is a hyponym of difference; that is, distinction is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than difference:

difference: the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
distinction: a distinguishing difference between similar things or people

Other hyponyms of difference include distinctness, otherness, separateness, differential, differentia, disagreement, discrepancy, divergence, variance, dissimilarity, unsimilarity, change, variety, inequality, unconstitutionality.

difference (noun)	distinction (noun)
the quality of being unlike or dissimilar	a distinguishing difference between similar things or people
a disagreement or argument about something important	a discrimination between things as different and distinct on the basis of their characteristics or attributes
a variation that deviates from the standard or norm	an honor awarded to someone in recognition of achievement or superiority
the number that remains after subtraction; the number that when added to the subtrahend gives the minuend	high status importance owing to marked superiority
a significant change

Difference between difference and distinction

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