HI731{"id":730,"date":"2021-09-22T08:33:37","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T08:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/?p=730"},"modified":"2026-04-29T11:26:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:26:00","slug":"example-vs-sample","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/example-vs-sample\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cExample\u201d vs. \u201cSample\u201d- Learn the Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Example vs Sample<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><mark class=\"bs-highlight bs-highlight-default\">The word <em><strong>example<\/strong><\/em> is used to mention an illustration, in support of a claim.<\/mark><\/p>\n<p><mark class=\"bs-highlight bs-highlight-default\">The word <em><strong>sample<\/strong><\/em> is used to denote a specimen or model.<\/mark><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Some English words invite confusion every time someone tries to use them. Many might think that only the words with overlapping meanings would be difficult to use correctly. However, surprisingly, such a confusion is quite common around words having very distinct meanings as well.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, <em>example<\/em> and <em>sample<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Example<\/em> and <em>sample<\/em> are two words with very different meanings, but still manage to puzzle a lot of people who are not aware of this difference!<\/p>\n<p>No matter what the words are, the easiest way to clear this confusion is by understanding how these words differ in their meanings!<\/p>\n<p>So, today we will detangle <em>example<\/em> and <em>sample <\/em>and learn when to use them in our writing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When is <em>Example <\/em>used?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The word <em>example<\/em> is used to mention an illustration, in support of a claim. It shows that something is typical of or fits into a particular category. An example is not exclusive; there could be others similar to it.<\/p>\n<p>She has set an <em>example<\/em> for women who want to join forces.<\/p>\n<p>When used as a verb, <em>example<\/em> means to illustrate or exemplify.<\/p>\n<p>His low attendance in class <em>examples<\/em> his negligence towards studies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When is <em>Sample <\/em>used?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The word <em>sample <\/em>is used to denote a specimen or model. A <em>sample <\/em>is a piece or part of a particular thing used to explain what the whole thing is like. In most cases, a sample is a physical entity.<\/p>\n<p>Typhoid infection is detected by testing the patient\u2019s blood <em>sample<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sample<\/em> can also be used as a verb to describe the action of collecting a part or piece of something.<\/p>\n<p>We <em>sample<\/em> wine from each production batch.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Usage in academic writing<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Example<\/em> means an illustration. <em>Sample<\/em> means a specimen. While they may appear to be synonyms, we saw how these words express very different ideas. Knowing this difference proves to be helpful in avoiding errors in writing. More so in academic writing, where both these words are used extensively.<\/p>\n<p>Let us see how the words <em>example<\/em> and <em>sample<\/em> are used in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/\">academic writing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Incorrect:<\/strong> Previously, Powell (1984) gave a <em><u>sample <\/u><\/em>of the censored least absolute deviations estimator.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Correct:<\/strong> Previously, Powell (1984) gave an <em><u>example<\/u><\/em> of the censored least absolute deviations estimator.<\/p>\n<p>In this sentence, the author intends to convey that Powell provided an illustration or exemplar of the mentioned concept. Hence, <em>example<\/em> is a better word choice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Incorrect:<\/strong> It is not possible to fit an autologistic model when only an <em><u>example<\/u><\/em> of sites is surveyed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Correct:<\/strong> It is not possible to fit an autologistic model when only a <em><u>sample<\/u><\/em> of sites is surveyed.<\/p>\n<p>This sentence is not providing an illustration; instead, it is talking about a part of the sites that have been analyzed. In the scientific context, such a part of a substance or product which is used to understand the substance or product as a whole is called a sample.<\/p>\n<p>There you go! Now you can use the words <em>example<\/em> and <em>sample<\/em> in your writing with confidence. For even greater precision, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/grammar-checker\">grammar checker<\/a> can help you refine your usage further.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Example vs Sample &#8211; The word example is used to mention an illustration, in support of a claim. The word sample is used to denote a specimen or model.<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[208],"tags":[176],"acf":[],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/28.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4405,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730\/revisions\/4405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}