It’s (not) dissimilar than…?
It’s (not) dissimilar to…?
It’s (not) dissimilar from…?
It’s (not) different than…?
It’s (not) different to…?
It’s (not) different from…?
Hm, now that I’ve typed those out perhaps it depends on the next word?
And, also - now that I’ve typed that out - I DID correctly spell “dissimilar” - they just look funny all next to each other like that. 
I’m an English teacher, editor, etc., and the basic rule is that in the U.S., the correct word is “from,” while in the UK it is “to.” My ex-husband, who is British and very well educated, confirmed this.
“Than” is rarely correct, although its usage is common. According to the great book on usage by Patricia T. O’Conner, Woe Is I,, “The simple answer is that *different from *is almost always right, and different than is almost always wrong.” However, she goes on to say that you could use either before a clause.
What **Kapri **said.
Re: dissimilar – I wouldn’t use that word as you have here. I’m embarrassed to admit, though, that I can’t seem to come up with a logical reason why or any useful examples. It’s just my instinct.
kapri, forgive my ignorance, but could you please give an example of this? I’m not picking nits, I just want to know.
Thanks in advance.
I was afraid you were going to ask that!
Okay, a clause is a group of words that contains a subject (noun) and a predicate (verb).
O’Conner gives these examples:
Respectability is different from what it was fifty years ago.
Respectability is different than it was fifty years ago.
I frankly would see “from” and “to” as synonymous and equally acceptable with “dissimilar” – and I know that sounds paradoxical, but that’s what my ear says.
“Different” should generally take “from”; “different than” is considered solecistic by usage experts, though I suspect an accpetable sentence in which “than” would be appropriate could be constructed with effort.
Go with whatever sounds right to you. What do you expect will be the consequences if you make a “wrong” choice? [What leads to suppose there is just one right choice in the first place (if, indeed, you do suppose that)?]
I’m sorry but :rolleyes: . You could say this in ANY thread that asks a grammar question as a way of suggesting that such questions are pointless. Obviously the OP want to know what the basic rules are, for whatever reason. Consequences? What a bizarrely ridiculous standard for when to use correct grammar.
Anyway.
As noted, “than” is usually wrong, although this is one of the losingest battles in current grammar: 99% of usage goes with “than,” even more and more in print. I suspect that in a relatively short time the correct usage will have fallen completely out of favor.
My rule of thumb, what helps me remember, is that “from” denotes a simple, straightforward distinction, while n"than" is used when comparing the degree of that distinction. “From” is more binary; “than” describes a spectrum. “Different from,” “separate from,” “distinct from,” etc. See? Binary.
All the rest is spectrum: taller than, smaller than, older than, weirder than, etc. Spectrum, not binary.
So “different than” just sounds wrong to me; as if you should be saying “differenter than” or something.
Here’s my rule of thumb. If curmudgeon Theodore M. Bernstein accepts a usage or even hints at accepting a usage in the 1965 work The Careful Writer, that usage is completely acceptable today.
He spends three full pages, one of the longest entries in the book, discussing different than.
If you want a rule out of all that verbiage, here it is:
He does say different from is usually always good but then finds a counterexample and ends:
Constructing a clear sentence that the reader will grasp, and grasp all intended nuances of, is more important than any mechanical application of rules.
Of course, deconstruction has reared its ugly head since Bernstein and says that what the reader takes away is always something different from or even different than what the writer originally intended. 
I would use “from” with both, but I have to admit that “dissimilar to” doesn’t really soud wrong and both seem awkward to me. But living in Canada for over 40 years, I have had to get used to the fact that most Canadians seem to say “different to”. These things do not have logical answers, usage rules!
When all else fails (and sometimes even before reaching that point), it’s often helpful to consult a dictionary.
Different. The official indication is that “from” and “than” are both acceptable; my preferance is for “from.”
Dissimilar. The official indication is that “to” is the appropriate choice.
Maybe, but that’s not true of British English. “Different than” sounds very American to me. I would only ever use “than” after a comparative.
Interesting. I am British and “very well educated” (whatever that means), though I am not kapri’s husband, and I was always taught that “different from” is the correct form. It is true that “different to” is probably more common in current usage in Britain, particularly in spoken language. There are times where I use “different to” without thinking, because it initially seems more appropriate, but I nearly always mentally correct these to “different from”. I have always thought “different than” to be an ugly Americanism, though I agree with previous posters and their cites who say that in a few situations it reads best.
I don’t recall ever using “dissimilar” in written or spoken language (I prefer “different from”), but my thought is that it should be “dissimilar to”, analogous to “similar to”. “Dissimilar from” also sounds acceptable, but “dissimilar than” just sounds wrong to me.
One sentence in and my brain fart is explained. These days I read as much UK media as I do US; no wonder I’m confused.
Merci.
I’m British, and work as an editor, and to me “dissimilar from” sounds all wrong. You wouldn’t say “similar from”, so it should be “dissimilar to”. I know English doesn’t always (or even usually) work logically, but using “from” just seems unnecessarily jarring.
As for “different”, I prefer “different from”.
Me too. I always say “different from” and thought that anything else was incorrect, albeit common.
Well, good, because the British ex-husband in question had me so squished under his thumb that he probably could have told me we were moving to the moon and I would have believed him.
I’m not in the least disturbed to hear that his vehement insistence that “different to” is correct was . . . not correct.
I believe that I first read of the preference for “different from” in Strunk and White: The Elements of Style. It’s one of those books worth swearing by.
Some people do not concern themselves with the elegance or grace of the well-turned phrase. Fortunately, their arguments remain poorly written and unconvincing.
Insufferable Language Snob Until I Make The Next Mistake…
Or at.
I’ve been thinking about this for a few days. Generally, the usage “different from” sounds right to me, though kapri notes one good example where “different than” sounds right. What trips me up is dissimilar. I can’t think of a good natural sentence where it is used as posed in the OP. Any suggestions?
BTW, the logic of using “to” by analogy to similar occurred to me, but I don’t do grammar that way. I go by ear. For that, I need an example.