inequality

/ˌˈɪnəˌkwɑlədi/

/ɪnɛˈkwɒlɛti/

Other forms: inequalities

When there's an inequality, something is out of balance and things are not equal. An inequality occurs in math when the two quantities are not the same measure or amount.

In society, an inequality occurs when rights and privileges are not applied fairly. The civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, for example, arose because of inequalities between the races. Blacks in the South could not sit in the front of the bus, drink from the same water fountains as whites, or even attend the same schools. People protested this inequality in many ways, including bus strikes, sit-ins, and marches.

Definitions of inequality

1. noun

   lack of equality
   “the growing inequality between rich and poor”

   antonyms:

   equality

   the quality of being the same in quantity or measure or value or status

   types:

   nonequivalence

   not interchangeable

   disparity

   inequality or difference in some respect

   unevenness

   the quality of being unbalanced

   far cry

   a disappointing disparity

   gap, spread

   a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures

   chasm, disconnect, disconnection, gulf

   an unbridgeable disparity (as from a failure of understanding)

   disproportion

   lack of proportion; imbalance among the parts of something

   type of:

   difference

   the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
2. noun

   (mathematics) a relation indicating that two quantities are of unequal value
   type of:

   mathematical relation

   a relation between mathematical expressions (such as equality or inequality)