a gross comparison

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "a gross comparison" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing a comparison that is considered excessive, unfair, or inappropriate in some context. Example: "The article made a gross comparison between the two political candidates, ignoring their individual merits and flaws."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

However, we were able to do a gross comparison of the revision rate using revision for any reason as endpoint.

Acta Orthopaedica

There has been enough work in animal rates and lengths of deletion to permit a gross comparison of our Brassica lineage deletion process and that operating in any animal studied.

Genome Biology and Evolution

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

Here we made a rough relative measurement of brightness that confounds these different factors but that allows a gross comparisons across GECIs.

Plosone

The first assessment of the murine wound model included a gross pathology comparison of wounds that were infected with K. pneumoniae and received GaCi treatment versus those with no treatment.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

A gross morphologic comparison of PARG110 KO and wt retinae at P30 did not reveal major differences in terms of retinal thickness and layering, neither in ex vivo histology nor in in vivo optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging.

Cell Death and Disease

"Bill O'Brien's painful and gross comparison is just the latest in a long line of misleading attacks and rhetoric promoted by the same special interests who opposed health reform in the first place," said Zandra Rice Hawkins, executive director to Granite State Progress said in a statement.

Huffington Post

Another solution is provided by consistent and robust literature showing that people better understand risk information (in terms of gross comparison and risk assessment tasks) if risks are presented in terms of frequencies (e.g., 5 out of 100 people) rather than in percentages (5%%) [66, 69].

Insights into Imaging

Interestingly, gross comparison of the mammary glands using whole mounts suggested that Cox-2 inhibition did not appear to be as effective as IL-1β inhibition.

Breast Cancer Research

The gross comparison of biotinylation patterns indicated that the complement of surface-exposed proteins from the POS and HMPOS cell lines appeared similar, while the surface proteome of the CnOb cell line appeared to be markedly different.

BMC Veterinary Research

While it may be informative to study a wide cross-section of the proteome [ 80], gross comparisons between different folds are unable to inform as to how and why a polypeptide chain folds to its specific native state.

Current Opinion in Structural Biology

The agroinfiltration experiment in Nicotiana benthamiana was designed to rapidly screen the expression vectors for functionality, but to also assay gross comparisons of the effect of ER-targeting, e.g., adding a signal peptide fusion to the N-terminus and an HDEL ER retention signal to the C-terminus that successfully improved whole plant fluorescence for GFP [ 26].

BMC Biotechnology

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "a gross comparison", ensure the context clearly indicates that the comparison is overly simplified or lacks nuance. Avoid using it if you intend to convey a detailed or precise comparison.

Common error

Avoid using "a gross comparison" when you actually mean a detailed or nuanced comparison. The term implies a lack of specificities, so ensure it aligns with your intended meaning.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a gross comparison" functions as a noun phrase where "gross" acts as a pre-modifying adjective, describing the nature of the "comparison". It generally indicates a comparison lacking in detail or precision. Ludwig AI confirms that the phrase is grammatically correct and usable.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

50%

News & Media

50%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "a gross comparison" is a phrase used to describe a comparison that is broad and lacks specific details. While grammatically correct and verified by Ludwig AI, it's relatively rare in usage. The phrase appears in both scientific and news contexts, suggesting a neutral register. When employing this phrase, be mindful that it implies a lack of precision; alternatives such as "a crude comparison" or "a rough comparison" might be more appropriate depending on the context. Avoid using it when a detailed analysis is intended.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

a crude comparison

Replaces "gross" with "crude", suggesting a lack of refinement or detail in the comparison.

a rough comparison

Substitutes "gross" with "rough", implying an approximate or inexact comparison.

a broad comparison

Replaces "gross" with "broad", indicating a wide-ranging but potentially less detailed comparison.

a general comparison

Uses "general" instead of "gross", suggesting a comparison that lacks specific details.

a superficial comparison

Replaces "gross" with "superficial", implying that the comparison only considers the surface level.

an oversimplified comparison

Replaces "gross" with "oversimplified", emphasizing that the comparison is too simplistic and doesn't capture the nuances.

an unfair comparison

Replaces "gross" with "unfair", suggesting bias or inequity in the comparison.

a flawed comparison

Substitutes "gross" with "flawed", implying that the comparison has inherent weaknesses or inaccuracies.

a misleading comparison

Replaces "gross" with "misleading", indicating that the comparison is likely to cause confusion or misinterpretation.

an inappropriate comparison

Replaces "gross" with "inappropriate", suggesting that the comparison is unsuitable for the given context.

FAQs

What does "a gross comparison" mean?

The phrase "a gross comparison" refers to a comparison that is very general and lacks detail. It often implies that the comparison is overly simplistic or even misleading because it ignores important nuances.

What can I say instead of "a gross comparison"?

You can use alternatives like "a crude comparison", "a rough comparison", or "a superficial comparison" depending on the specific context.

Is "a gross comparison" a negative term?

While not inherently negative, "a gross comparison" often carries a slightly negative connotation. It suggests that the comparison is not very accurate or useful due to its lack of detail and potential for oversimplification.

When is it appropriate to use the phrase "a gross comparison"?

Use "a gross comparison" when you want to emphasize that a comparison is very general and lacks specific detail. It is suitable when discussing broad trends or making initial assessments, but not when precision is required.