Compare well

[nyggus]

"The method A compared well with the method B."

What does this compared well mean? Was the method A better than the method B?

Best,
Nyggus

[Tdol]

It doesn't have to be better, but it's certainly good. If method A is cheaper, but nearly as good, then you could still say it compared well.

[nyggus]

It doesn't have to be better, but it's certainly good. If method A is cheaper, but nearly as good, then you could still say it compared well.

But it does mean that there is something that makes the method A better (in any way) than the method B, doesn't it?
Nyggus

[Tdol]

Or as good.

[nyggus]

Or as good.

OK, this is what I felt and hence my question -- we don't say here that the method A is better but that it is at least as good as the method B. Thanks, Tdol!

Nyggus

[MikeNewYork]

"The method A compared well with the method B."

What does this compared well mean? Was the method A better than the method B?

Best,
Nyggus

Another, even more common, phrase is "compared favorably with".

[nyggus]

Another, even more common, phrase is "compared favorably with".

Does it mean exactly the same as "compared well with"?

Nyggus

[BobK]

If the comparison is even in most respects (some better, some worse) we often say 'stands up to comparison with' or 'bears comparison with'.

b

[MikeNewYork]

Does it mean exactly the same as "compared well with"?

Nyggus

Yes, it means "was approximately the same."