meaningprepositions
I've seen online dictionaries defining the word differentiate as (along with other definitions):
to mark or show a difference in : constitute a difference that distinguishes
To perceive or show the difference in or between; discriminate.
Now, I understand the meaning difference "between things." However, I don't understand what "difference in" means. Does someone have an example usage that can help my understanding?
The only usage preference I'm aware of is that artefact is preferred in British English and artifact is preferred in US English, but that both are acceptable in either case.
See the Oxford Dictionary, for example.
Personally, I tend to mix them the same way you do: I collect artifacts in Tomb Raider and my compressed photos have artefacts!
The big difference is that cumulative is far more common than accumulative.
At the level of actual meaning, to the extent that accumulative is used at all, it tends to refer to someone/something doing the accumulating. By contrast, cumulative is more associated with that which is accumulated.
If the sense intended is acquisitive, just use that word. In all other cases, use cumulative.
Best Answer
"Difference in" is usually used to refer to a change in one thing, instead of noting the dissimilarity between two things. "I noticed a difference in the way you play piano now. It's so much softer than it used to be." "There's a difference in my attitude. I am happy at last."
"In" is also used when you are referring to the difference between two things by pointing out the difference itself (i.e. the ONE thing that's different). Consider these two ways of saying the same thing: "There's a difference in the way you use 'cold' and 'frigid'," versus "There's a difference between 'cold' and 'frigid'."
So use "in" with a single object, and "between" with a pair of objects.