Degree vs. Magnitude — What's the Difference?

A unit of measurement for angles.

In physics, it describes quantities that also have direction.

Metaphorically implies extent.

Used to measure brightness of stars in astronomy.

A level of intensity or achievement.

Used in statistics to indicate effect size.

A unit for temperature measurement.

Refers to the greatness or scale in general use.

A stage in a scale or series.

Size, extent, or importance of something physical.

The amount, level, or extent to which something happens or is present

Greatness of rank or position

A unit of measurement of angles, one ninetieth of a right angle or the angle subtended by one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of the circumference of a circle

Greatness in size or extent

A unit in any of various scales of temperature, intensity, or hardness

Greatness in significance or influence

An academic rank conferred by a college or university after examination or after completion of a course, or conferred as an honour on a distinguished person

The brightness of a celestial body on a numerical scale for which brighter objects have smaller values. Differences in magnitude are based on a logarithmic scale that matches the response of the human eye to differences in brightness so that a decrease of one magnitude represents an increase in apparent brightness by a factor of 2.512. Also called apparent magnitude.

Social or official rank

A unit on such a scale of brightness.

One of a series of steps in a process, course, or progression; a stage

A number assigned to a quantity so that it may be compared with other quantities.

A step in a direct hereditary line of descent or ascent

A property that can be described by a real number, such as the volume of a sphere or the length of a vector.

Relative social or official rank, dignity, or position.

(Geology) A measure of the amount of energy released by an earthquake, as indicated on the Richter scale.

Relative intensity or amount, as of a quality or attribute

The absolute or relative size, extent or importance of something.

The extent or measure of a state of being, an action, or a relation

(countable) An order of magnitude.

A unit division of a temperature scale.

(mathematics) A number, assigned to something, such that it may be compared to others numerically

(Mathematics) A planar unit of angular measure equal in magnitude to 1/360 of a complete revolution.

(mathematics) Of a vector, the norm, most commonly, the two-norm.

A unit of latitude or longitude, equal to 1/360 of a great circle.

(astronomy) A logarithmic scale of brightness defined so that a difference of 5 magnitudes is a factor of 100.

The greatest sum of the exponents of the variables in a term of a polynomial or polynomial equation.

(uncountable) The apparent brightness of a star, with lower magnitudes being brighter; apparent magnitude

The exponent of the derivative of highest order in a differential equation in standard form.

(countable) A ratio of intensity expressed as a logarithm.

An academic title given by a college or university to a student who has completed a course of study

(seismology) A measure of the energy released by an earthquake (e.g. on the Richter scale).

A similar title conferred as an honorary distinction.

Extent of dimensions; size; - applied to things that have length, breadth, and thickness.

(Law) A division or classification of a specific crime according to its seriousness

That which has one or more of the three dimensions, length, breadth, and thickness.

A classification of the severity of an injury, especially a burn

Anything of which greater or less can be predicated, as time, weight, force, and the like.

(Grammar) One of the forms used in the comparison of adjectives and adverbs. For example, tall is the positive degree, taller the comparative degree, and tallest the superlative degree of the adjective tall.

Greatness; grandeur.

One of the seven notes of a diatonic scale.

Greatness, in reference to influence or effect; importance; as, an affair of magnitude.

A space or line of the staff.

See magnitude of a star, below.

A stage of proficiency or qualification in a course of study, now especially an award bestowed by a university or, in some countries, a college, as a certification of academic achievement. (In the United States, can include secondary schools.)

The property of relative size or extent;

(geometry) A unit of measurement of angle equal to 360 of a circle's circumference.

A number assigned to the ratio of two quantities; two quantities are of the same order of magnitude if one is less than 10 times as large as the other; the number of magnitudes that the quantities differ is specified to within a power of 10

(physics) A unit of measurement of temperature on any of several scales, such as Celsius or Fahrenheit.

Relative importance;

(algebra) The sum of the exponents of a term; the order of a polynomial.

The dimensionality of a field extension.

(graph theory) The number of edges that a vertex takes part in; a valency.

(logic) The number of logical connectives in a formula.

(surveying) The curvature of a circular arc, expressed as the angle subtended by a fixed length of arc or chord.

(geography) A unit of measurement of latitude and longitude which together identify a location on the Earth's surface.

(grammar) Any of the three stages (positive, comparative, superlative) in the comparison of an adjective or an adverb.

A step on a set of stairs; the rung of a ladder.

An individual step, or stage, in any process or scale of values.

A stage of rank or privilege; social standing.

(genealogy) A ‘step’ in genealogical descent.

One's relative state or experience; way, manner.

The amount that an entity possesses a certain property; relative intensity, extent.

A step, stair, or staircase.

One of a series of progressive steps upward or downward, in quality, rank, acquirement, and the like; a stage in progression; grade; gradation; as, degrees of vice and virtue; to advance by slow degrees; degree of comparison.

The point or step of progression to which a person has arrived; rank or station in life; position.

Measure of advancement; quality; extent; as, tastes differ in kind as well as in degree.

Grade or rank to which scholars are admitted by a college or university, in recognition of their attainments; also, (informal) the diploma provided by an educational institution attesting to the achievement of that rank; as, the degree of bachelor of arts, master, doctor, etc.; to hang one's degrees on the office wall.

A certain distance or remove in the line of descent, determining the proximity of blood; one remove in the chain of relationship; as, a relation in the third or fourth degree.

Three figures taken together in numeration; thus, 140 is one degree, 222,140 two degrees.

State as indicated by sum of exponents; more particularly, the degree of a term is indicated by the sum of the exponents of its literal factors; thus, a2b3c is a term of the sixth degree. The degree of a power, or radical, is denoted by its index, that of an equation by the greatest sum of the exponents of the unknown quantities in any term; thus, ax4 + bx2 = c, and mx2y2 + nyx = p, are both equations of the fourth degree.

A 360th part of the circumference of a circle, which part is taken as the principal unit of measure for arcs and angles. The degree is divided into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds.

A division, space, or interval, marked on a mathematical or other instrument, as on a thermometer.

A position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality;

A specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process;

An award conferred by a college or university signifying that the recipient has satisfactorily completed a course of study;

A unit of temperature on a specified scale;

A measure for arcs and angles;

The highest power of a term or variable

The seriousness of something (e.g., a burn or crime);

Yes, 'magnitude' is commonly used to describe the severity of natural disasters like earthquakes.

In mathematics, 'degree' is primarily used to measure angles.

In everyday language, 'magnitude' implies great size or importance, whereas in science, it quantitatively measures properties like size or force.

No, they are used in different contexts; 'degree' often involves levels or angles, while 'magnitude' pertains to size and scale.

Yes, 'degree' often refers to academic qualifications signifying completion of a level of education.

Yes, it can be used metaphorically to describe extent or level of something, such as in "to a certain degree."

Besides angles, 'degree' can measure temperature and levels of achievement or intensity.

In vector mathematics, 'magnitude' describes the length or size of the vector.

In astronomy, 'magnitude' measures the brightness of celestial bodies.

In daily life, 'degree' is often used when discussing temperatures, like in weather forecasts.

In physics, 'magnitude' refers to the size of a quantity that has both direction and amount, such as in vectors.

Degrees Celsius and Fahrenheit are commonly used to measure temperature.

It implies a certain extent or level, but not completely.

It denotes the energy release of an earthquake, crucial for assessing its potential damage.

Yes, it can also describe the level or intensity of other qualities, like severity of a condition.