Meaning of distinction without a difference | Babel Free

Definitions

A linguistic or conceptual distinction which is of no practical importance or which has no effect on meaning; a perceived difference where there is no actual difference.

Examples

“"'The Active Inquirer' is the present⟳ name⟳, though when we supported Mr. Adams it was called 'The Active Enquirer,' with an E." "A distinction without a difference; I like⟳ that," interrupted Captain Truck.”

“I said . . . I did not speak⟳ English at all—I only spoke American. He laughed, and said it was a distinction without a difference. I said no, the difference was not prodigious, but still it was considerable.”

“The fact that the sit-in convictions were under state rather than federal law, ruled last⟳ week's majority, is "a distinction without a difference."”

“"Obscene" is a higher standard than "indecent," although it seems like⟳ a distinction without a difference.”

“The Bush Administration attempted to distinguish the current case from Flast. . . . Judge⟳ Richard Posner, writing for the court of appeals, responded that this was a distinction without a difference. In the end⟳, all money is appropriated by Congress.”

“[Attacking European Jews while claiming to avenge Palestinian deaths], of course, collapses the distinction between Israeli Jews and those from European countries, making a mockery of the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. For the terrorists, it is a distinction without a difference.”

CEFR level