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Hhtt Posted 9 years ago
Vocabulary

Material difference v. important difference

A: What's the difference (in meaning) between:
"The fraction of a voting population to have selected a particular candidate." and
The fraction of a voting population who have selected a particular candidate."

B: In the contexts that I can envisage, there is no material difference in meaning, but one might flow better than the other, depending on the overall sentence structure. Neither is a complete sentence by itself.

Above is a phrase "material difference" I would like to ask if it is the same in meaning as "important difference". Are they the same?

https://www.EnglishForward.com/English/Default/bhpwgg/post.htm

Thank you.

  

Top answer

hhtt I would like to ask if it is the same in meaning as "important difference". No. " "Material difference" is used in a legal context.

  • hhtt I would like to ask if it is the same in meaning as "important difference".
  • No.
  • " "Material difference" is used in a legal context.
  • If you have two contracts, Contract A and Contract B, and there is no material difference between them, then the wording may be different, the formats may be different, one might be in Spanish, the other in English, one might be in 12-point type, the other in 10-point type, etc.
  • But if there were a legal dispute in a court of law, the outcome under Contract A would be the same as the outcome under Contract B.
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3 Answers
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hhttI would like to ask if it is the same in meaning as "important difference".

No. If two things have no important differences, they can have a lot of difference in the details., and it depends on what you define as "important."

"Material difference" is used in a legal context.

If you have two contracts, Contract A and Contract B, and t

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hhttAbove is a phrase "material difference" I would like to ask if it is the same in meaning as "important difference". Are they the same?

Yes. That's very close to the idea. Here's what one dictionary says:

material: important enough to notice or to have an effect

CJ

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Material difference - some materials, say curtains, can be very thick and heavy, whereas a shirt may be lighter for the summer. The material is demonstrably different. Surface design patterns such as prints, spots or stripes do not necessitate a difference in material.

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