What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Instance vs Pattern - What's the difference?

instance | pattern |

In lang=en terms the difference between instance and pattern

is that instance is to cite an example as proof; to exemplify while pattern is to serve as an example for.

As nouns the difference between instance and pattern

is that instance is (obsolete) urgency of manner or words; an urgent request; insistence while pattern is model, example.

As verbs the difference between instance and pattern

is that instance is to mention as a case or example; to refer to; to cite; as, to instance a fact while pattern is to apply a pattern.

instance

English

Alternative forms

* enstance, enstaunce, instaunce (all obsolete)

Noun

(en noun)
  • (obsolete) Urgency of manner or words; an urgent request; insistence.
  • *, II.8:
  • I know one very well alied, to whom, at the instance of a brother of his.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
  • undertook at her instance to restore them.
  • (obsolete) A token; a sign; a symptom or indication.
  • It sends some precious instance of itself/ After the thing it loves. Hamlet IV. v. ca. 1602
  • (obsolete) That which is urgent; motive.
  • * Shakespeare
  • The instances that second marriage move / Are base respects of thrift, but none of love.
  • Occasion; order of occurrence.
  • * Sir M. Hale
  • These seem as if, in the time of Edward I., they were drawn up into the form of a law, in the first instance .
  • A case offered as an exemplification or a precedent; an illustrative example.
  • * Atterbury
  • most remarkable instances of suffering
  • *:
  • sometimes we love those that are absent, saith Philostratus, and gives instance in his friend Athenodorus, that loved a maid at Corinth whom he never saw
  • One of a series of recurring occasions, cases, essentially the same.
  • *
  • *
  • * 2010 , The Guardian , 11 Oct 2010:
  • The organisations claim fraudsters are targeting properties belonging to both individuals and companies, in some instances using forged documents.
  • (obsolete) A piece of evidence; a proof or sign (of something).
  • * c. 1594 , William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors :
  • The reason that I gather he is mad, Besides this present instance of his rage, Is a mad tale he told to day at dinner [...].
  • (computing) In object-oriented programming: a created object, one that has had memory allocated for local data storage; an instantiation of a class.
  • (massively multiplayer online games) A dungeon or other area that is duplicated for each player, or each party of players, that enters it, so that each player or party has a private copy of the area, isolated from other players.
  • * 2006 September 1, "Dan" (username), " Re: DPS Classes: Why should I heal you?", in alt.games.warcraft, Usenet:
  • As long as the most difficult instance you've tried is Gnomeregan, you're never going to be credible talking about 'difficult encounters'.
  • * 2010 , , Online Multiplayer Games , Morgan & Claypool, ISBN 9781608451425, page 26:
  • For example, when a team of five players enters the Sunken Temple instance in World of Warcraft , they will battle many monsters, but they will not encounter other players even though several teams of players may be experiencing the Sunken Temple at the same time.
  • * 2012 , anonymous gamer quoted in Andrew Ee & Hichang Cho, " What Makes an MMORPG Leader? A Social Cognitive Theory-Based Approach to Understanding the Formation of Leadership Capabilities in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games", Eludamos , volume 6, page 31:
  • Beating a difficult instance becomes second nature after running through it…a few times, with good leaders knowing exactly what to do and how to co-ordinate member actions.
  • (massively multiplayer online games) An individual copy of such a dungeon or other area.
  • * 2005 January 11, Patrick B., " Re: Instance dungeons", in alt.games.warcraft, Usenet:
  • The instance is created for the group that enters it.
  • * 2005 December 6, "Rene" (username), " Re: Does group leader affect drops?", in alt.games.warcraft, Usenet:
  • As soon as the first player enters (spawns) a new instance , it appears that the loottable is somehow chosen.
  • * 2010 , Anthony Steed & Manuel Fradinho Oliveira, Networked Graphics: Building Networked Games and Virtual Environments , Elsevier, ISBN 978-0-12-374423-4, page 398:
  • A castle on the eastern edge of the island spawns a new instance whenever a party of players enters.

    Derived terms

    * at the instance of * in the first instance * in this instance * for instance

    See also

    * (computing) closure, class, object

    Verb

    (instanc)
  • To mention as a case or example; to refer to; to cite; as, to instance a fact.
  • * 1946 , E. M. Butler, Rainer Maria Rilke , p. 404
  • The poems which I have instanced are concrete and relatively glaring examples of the intangible difference which the change of language made in Rilke's visions .
  • To cite an example as proof; to exemplify.
  • References

    * *

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * ----

    pattern

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Model, example.
  • # Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline.
  • #* 1923 , ‘President Wilson’, Time , 18 Jun 1923:
  • There is no reason why all colleges and universities should be cut to the same pattern .
  • # Someone or something seen as an example to be imitated; an exemplar.
  • #* 1946 , Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy , I.16:
  • The Platonic Socrates was a pattern to subsequent philosophers for many ages.
  • #
  • #
  • # A representative example.
  • # (US) The material needed to make a piece of clothing.
  • # (textiles) The paper or cardboard template from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric prior to cutting out and assembling.
  • # (metalworking, dated) A full-sized model around which a mould of sand is made, to receive the melted metal. It is usually made of wood and in several parts, so as to be removed from the mould without damage.
  • # (computing) A text string containing wildcards, used for matching.
  • There were no files matching the pattern *.txt.
  • Decorative arrangement.
  • # A design, motif or decoration, especially formed from regular repeated elements.
  • #* 2003 , Valentino, ‘Is there a future in fashion's past?’, Time , 5 Feb 2003:
  • On my way to work the other day, I stopped at a church in Rome and saw a painting of the Madonna. The subtle pattern of blues and golds in the embroidery of her dress was so amazing that I used it to design a new evening dress for my haute couture.
  • # A naturally-occurring or random arrangement of shapes, colours etc. which have a regular or decorative effect.
  • #* 2011 , Rachel Cooke, The Observer , 19 Jun 2011:
  • He lifted the entire joint or fowl up into the air, speared on a carving fork, and sliced pieces off it so that they fell on the plate below in perfectly organised patterns .
  • # The given spread, range etc. of shot fired from a gun.
  • # A particular sequence of events, facts etc. which can be understood, used to predict the future, or seen to have a mathematical, geometric, statistical etc. relationship.
  • #* 1980 , ‘Shifting Targets’, Time , 6 Oct 1980:
  • The three killings pointed to an ugly new shift in the enduring pattern of violence in Northern Ireland: the mostly Protestant Ulster police, or those suspected of affiliation with them, have become more prominent targets for the I.R.A. than the British troops.
  • #* 2003 , Kate Hudson, The Guardian , 14 Aug 2003:
  • Look again at how the US and its allies behaved then, and the pattern is unmistakable.
  • # (linguistics) An intelligible arrangement in a given area of language.
  • Synonyms

    * original (1) * stencil (1) * tessellation (2) * category (3) * cycle (4) * similarity (5) * See also

    Antonyms

    * antipattern

    Derived terms

    * design pattern

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • to apply a pattern
  • To make or design (anything) by, from, or after, something that serves as a pattern; to copy; to model; to imitate.
  • * Sir T. Herbert
  • [A temple] patterned from that which Adam reared in Paradise.
  • to follow an example
  • *
  • to fit into a pattern
  • To serve as an example for.
  • Synonyms

    * model * categorize (2)