SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
social comparison
noun phrase
The process of evaluating oneself or one's circumstances in relation to other people.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Evaluating oneself against others
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topUpward and downward comparison are types based on whether the other person appears better or worse off. Peer comparison is narrower because comparisons need not involve peers.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See social comparison in use
The essay examines social comparison through neighbors who judge their success by one another's possessions.
Social comparison shaped a beginner's view of her running when she judged every practice result against faster teammates rather than against her own earlier efforts.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license