"compared to/with"

Question

HiCould I use 'compared to' and 'compared with' interchangeably?Trade flows have a greater volatility compared with gross world product.  Trade flows have a greater volatility compared to gross world product. Thank youPBF

Cbsteh · Accepted Answer

Perhaps the following excerpt from "Good Word Guide, Maser, N.H., Bloomsbury" will help you:
compare to or compare with?
Compare to and compare with are not interchangeable. Compare to is used when things are being likened to each other: He compared her skin to ivory.
Compare with is used when things are being considered from the point of view of both similarities and differences: Tourists find London hotels expensive compared with those of other European capitals.
When compare is used intransitively, with should always be used: His direction compares with early Hitchcock.
In American English compared to and comparable to are frequently used where with is appropriate: Compared to my brother, I'm poor.
It's not comparable to the home-made version, and these uses are coming into British English.

Mister Micawber · Answer

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The old Fowler has a long entry on these, but I don't think that anyone pays any attention any more to the difference; I certainly don't-- I don't stop for an instant to consider which I 'should' use.

Here's what the American Heritage Book of English Usage (1996) still says:

§ 66. compare to / compare with

Compare usually takes the preposition to when it refers to the activity of describing the resemblances between unlike things: He compared her to a summer day. Scientists sometimes compare the human brain to a computer. It takes with when it refers to the act of examining two like things in order to discern their similarities or differences: The police compared the forged signature with the original. The committee will have to compare the Senate’s version of the bill with the version that was passed by the House. When compare is used to mean “to liken (one) with another,” with is traditionally held to be the correct preposition: That little bauble is not to be compared with (not to) this enormous jewel. But to is frequently used in this context and is not incorrect.

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MrPedantic · Answer

For me, "with" places A and B side by side, during the comparison; while "to" holds A up against B.

MrP

Peaceblinkfriend · Answer

Thank you all for your replies.

PBF

"compared to/with"

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