The difference between dependence and dependency
I would really appreciate if someone could explain what are the difference between the following words. Though I checked it in a dictionary, I still cannot understand the difference between the following word pairs. In addition, please tell me whether there is more words like this.
dependence, dependency
competence, competency
Top answer
There are a few more words like this, but unfortunately none of them are coming to mind just now. These pairs are essentially variants of the same word. I checked the Oxford Dictionary.
- There are a few more words like this, but unfortunately none of them are coming to mind just now.
- These pairs are essentially variants of the same word.
- I checked the Oxford Dictionary.
- One of the definitions of 'dependency' is 'dependence', and in the definition of 'competence' there's a note that says "Also 'competency'".
- That said, if you peruse the results of searches online, you'll see that the forms with -cy are much more likely to be used as modifiers.
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There are a few more words like this, but unfortunately none of them are coming to mind just now.
These pairs are essentially variants of the same word. I checked the Oxford Dictionary. One of the definitions of 'dependency' is 'dependence', and in the definition of 'competence' there's a note that says "Also 'competency'".
That said, if you peruse the results of searches online,
0The pairs are essentially synonymous. The -cy version generally sounds more formal and academic. Americans are big on saving time and effort, and they tend to choose the shorter word - all things being equal. So you'd hear the -ce version most of the time. Other such pairs:
pungence, pungency
delinquence, delinquency
malignance, malignancy
imprudence, impruden
0
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