differences - "Compared with" vs "Compared to"

differences - "Compared with" vs "Compared to"—which is used when?

Is only one of them correct? Are they used in different situations? Or are they interchangeable?

Answer

From Strunk and White:

To compare to is to point out or imply resemblances between objects regarded as essentially of a different order;

To compare with is mainly to point out differences between objects regarded as essentially of the same order.

Thus, life has been compared to a pilgrimage, to a drama, to a battle; Congress may be compared with the British Parliament. Paris has been compared to ancient Athens; it may be compared with modern London.

Comments

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

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A man has a garden measuring 84 meters by 56 meters. He divides it into the minimum number of square plots. What is the length of the square plots?

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