Comapre to vs compare with

[kunal640]

The BTGMAT Flash card says:

"Compare to" compares UNLIKE things, whereas "compare with" compares LIKE things. "Compare to" is used to stress resemblance.
CORRECT: "She compared the evening gown to the cocktail dress. "
"Compare with" can be used to show either similarity or difference (usually difference).
CORRECT: "When compared with Laura's work product, Jim's showed a world of difference."


But the first example , "She compared the evening gown to the cocktail dress", compares LIKE things, here clothes.

Please help me understand this disparity.

Thank you in advance!

Kunal

[clock60]

resently found the below note in MG CAT, hope this can help

"Note that "compared to" and "compared with" are equivalent idioms from the point of view of the GMAT; thus this split is a red herring. According to some usage experts, these two idioms differ slightly in their emphasis on similarities vs. differences, but this distinction is not universally respected."

[e-GMAT]

clock60, you are absolutely correct.

There is not a single question in OG12 that tests the usage of compare to vs. compare with in terms of stating similarities or differences. So I suggest that we consider this idiomatic usage to be out of scope of GMAT syllabus (!!). However, we must know what GMAT considers as incorrect when it comes to such comparison expressions.

when compared to/with
when contrasted to/with
as contrasted to

Correct expressions are:
in comparison to/with
in contrast to/with

compared to/with
contrasted to/with

Thanks,

Payal

For e-gmat users, this concept of comparison expressions is covered in the concept titled "Idioms - Comparison Expressions"