Alex
What's the difference between "accurate" and "precise"? For example, can I interchange precise to accurate in this sentence: Drawing ornaments is very precise work. Can you give me some examples to show the difference? Thanks in advance!
Feb 13, 2016 4:55 AM
Answers · 2
1
"accurate" and "precise" - they are synonymous but differ in what they emphasize. accurate: be close and faithful to the object described or measured, free of error or defect. precise: be exact, free of wide deviations, in measurement or description. So "accurate" is more appropriate when there is a particular object involved. "precise" is often better when describing general manners and ways or when emphasizing the exactitude in particular aspects. For your "drawing ornaments" example, I would say using "accurate" makes it less clear and somewhat unnatural. Other examples: - The witness gave quite an accurate description of the criminal. - Accuracy is the foremost goal in measurements. - He was a person always precise in words in deeds. - It is precisely in this regard the enterprise is considered a failure.
February 13, 2016
1
"Drawing ornaments is very precise work" is correct but saying "Drawing ornaments is very accurate work" doesn't make proper sense. You could say "When I draw ornaments I make sure it is accurate". Here is the 2 best examples I found: "You can think of accuracy and precision in terms of a basketball player. If the player always makes a basket, even though he strikes different portions of the rim, he has a high degree of accuracy. If he doesn't make many baskets, but always strikes the same portion of the rim, he has a high degree of precision. A player who throws free throws that always make the basket the exact same way has a high degree of both accuracy and precision." "Take experimental measurements for another example of precision and accuracy. If you take the measurements of the mass of a 50.0 gram standard sample and get values of 47.5, 47.6, 47.5, and 47.7 grams, your scale is precise, but not very accurate." Source: http://chemistry.about.com/od/unitsconversions/fl/What-Is-the-Difference-Between-Accuracy-and-Precision.htm
February 13, 2016
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