different between unusual vs incomparable

English

Alternative forms

• unusuall (obsolete)

Etymology

From un- +? usual.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?ju??u?l/, /?n?ju???l/

Adjective

unusual (comparative more unusual, superlative most unusual)

1. Not usual, out of the ordinary

   Synonyms: uncommon, rare, extraordinary, remarkable; see also Thesaurus:strange

   Antonyms: normal, usual, common, ordinary

Derived terms

• unusually
• unusualness

Translations

Noun

unusual (plural unusuals)

1. Something that is unusual; an anomaly.
   • 1905, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Return of Sherlock Holmes

     I should say that it was very unusual for such men to leave a bottle half empty. How do all these unusuals strike you, Watson?

   • 1939, Pauline Redmond, Wilfrid Redmond, Business paper writing, a career (page 154)

     Two of these unusuals have been selected for special effort throughout the season. They are kneeling pads and water-proof garden gloves. During the bulb planting season they are displayed with the bulbs […]

References

• unusual at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology

From Middle French incomparable, from Old French [Term?], from Latin incompar?bilis.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???k?mp(?)r?b?l/, /??k?m?pær?b?l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /???k?mp(?)r?b?l/, /??k?m?p?r?b?l/

Adjective

incomparable (comparative more incomparable, superlative most incomparable)

1. So much better than another as to be beyond comparison; matchless or unsurpassed.
   • c. 1905, Oscar Wilde, De Profundis, (1909), Robert Baldwin Ross, ed., page 112:

     I know of nothing in all drama more incomparable from the point of view of art, nothing more suggestive in its subtlety of observation, than Shakespeare's drawing of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

2. (rare) Not able to be compared.

Usage notes

• Using more or most with incomparable, though often disapproved, is relatively common. Such uses may once have only been accepted for poetic effect, but are now widespread.
• Despite its apparently absolute meaning, incomparable is often used as if there were degrees of incomparability, occurring with adverbs such as so and very.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

incomparable (plural incomparables)

1. Something beyond compare; a thing with which there is no comparison.

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin incompar?bilis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /i?.kom.p???a.bl?/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /i?.kum.p???a.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /i?.kom.pa??a.ble/

Adjective

incomparable (masculine and feminine plural incomparables)

1. uncomparable, incomparable

   Antonym: comparable

Derived terms

• incomparablement

Further reading

• “incomparable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “incomparable” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “incomparable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “incomparable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From Latin incompar?bilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.k??.pa.?abl/

Adjective

incomparable (plural incomparables)

1. incomparable; uncomparable

   Antonym: comparable

Derived terms

• incomparablement

Further reading

• “incomparable” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin incompar?bilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inkompa??able/, [??.kõm.pa??a.??le]

Adjective

incomparable (plural incomparables)

1. uncomparable

   Antonym: comparable

Derived terms

• incomparablemente

Further reading

• “incomparable” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.