Build vs. Develop: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
Build refers to the physical construction of objects or structures, while develop denotes the growth or evolution of ideas, skills, or areas.
Key Differences
Build refers to the physical assembly of components or structures, often implying construction from the ground up. Develop, however, suggests a process of growth, improvement, or evolution, not necessarily physical.
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Nov 10, 2023
In building, materials like wood, metal, or concrete are used to create tangible objects or structures. Developing often involves intangible elements like ideas, skills, or technologies, enhancing or refining them over time.
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Nov 10, 2023
Build is typically a term used in architecture, engineering, and construction, focusing on creating physical entities. Develop is widely used in contexts like software, business strategies, or personal skills, emphasizing progression and expansion.
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Nov 10, 2023
The action of building is usually more immediate and observable, with a clear start and end. Development is often a gradual process, marked by stages of growth and change that may not have a definitive endpoint.
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While building results in a tangible output, such as a house or a machine, development leads to outcomes like enhanced knowledge, evolved systems, or advanced technologies, which are more abstract and continuous.
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Comparison Chart
Nature
Physical construction of objects or structures
Growth or improvement of ideas, skills, areas
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Context
Often used in construction, engineering
Common in software, business, personal growth
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Output
Tangible products like buildings, machines
Intangible outcomes like knowledge, systems
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Process
Immediate, observable with a clear endpoint
Gradual, continuous, often without clear end
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Materials/Elements
Physical materials like wood, metal
Intangible elements like ideas, technologies
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Build and Develop Definitions
Build
Creating something structurally sound or functional.
She helped build the software from scratch.
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Develop
Evolving from a simpler to a more complex form.
She watched her idea develop into a successful product.
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Build
Increase or strengthen over time.
The team aims to build their skills through practice.
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Develop
Progressing through a series of stages.
The technology has developed rapidly over the years.
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Build
Establish a basis for further development.
He built a strong foundation for his business.
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Develop
To bring from latency to or toward fulfillment
An instructor who develops the capabilities of each student.
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Develop
To expand or enlarge
Developed a national corporation into a worldwide business.
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Build
To order, finance, or supervise the construction of
The administration built several new housing projects.
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Build
To develop or give form to according to a plan or process; create
Build a nation.
Built a successful business out of their corner grocery store.
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Develop
To improve the quality of; refine
Develops his recipes to perfection.
An extra year of study to develop virtuosic technique.
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Build
To increase or strengthen by adding gradually to
Money building interest in a savings account.
Build support for a political candidate.
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Develop
To cause to become more complex or intricate; add detail and fullness to; elaborate
Began with a good premise but developed it without imagination.
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Develop
(Music) To elaborate (a theme) with rhythmic and harmonic variations.
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Build
To engage in the construction or design of buildings
"Each of the three architects built in a different style" (Dwight Macdonald).
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Develop
To set forth or clarify by degrees
Developed her thesis in a series of articles.
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Develop
To come to have gradually; acquire
Develop a taste for opera.
Develop a friendship.
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Build
To progress toward a maximum, as of intensity
Suspense building from the opening scene to the climax.
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Develop
To become affected with; contract
Developed a rash.
Developed agoraphobia.
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Build
The physical makeup of a person or thing, especially one's physique
An athletic build.
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Develop
To influence the behavior of toward a specific end
An investigator who develops witnesses through flattery and intimidation.
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Build
(Computers) Any of various versions of a software product as it is being developed for release to users.
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Develop
To cause (a tract of land or a building) to serve a particular purpose
Developed the site as a community of condominiums.
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Develop
To make available and effective to fulfill a particular end or need
Develop the state's water resources to serve a growing population.
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Build
(transitive) To develop or give form to (something) according to a plan or process.
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Build
(transitive) To increase or strengthen (something) by adding gradually to.
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Develop
(Games) To move (a chess piece) to or toward a more strategic position.
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Develop
To process (a photosensitive medium such as exposed film) in order to produce a photographic image.
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Develop
To produce (a photographic image) by use of a photosensitive medium or by printing from a digital file.
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Develop
To grow by degrees into a more advanced or mature state
With hard work, she developed into a great writer.
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Develop
To increase or expand
Sales developed until we needed a bigger warehouse.
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Build
To be converted into software by compilation, usually with minimal human intervention.
This code won’t build any more. Have you made any changes?
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Develop
To improve; advance
Their skill developed until it rivaled their teacher's.
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Build
The physique of a human or animal body, or other object; constitution or structure.
Rugby players are of sturdy build.
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Develop
To come gradually into existence or activity
Tension developed between students and faculty.
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Build
Any of various versions of a software product as it is being developed for release to users.
The computer company has introduced a new prototype build to beta testers.
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Develop
To come gradually to light; be disclosed
Reports the news as it develops.
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Build
A structure, such as a building, statue, pool or forest, or a configuration of a character's items or skills, created by the player.
I made a build that looked like the Parthenon in that game.
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Develop
To progress from earlier to later stages of a life cycle
Caterpillars develop into butterflies.
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Build
To erect or construct, as an edifice or fabric of any kind; to form by uniting materials into a regular structure; to fabricate; to make; to raise.
Nor aught availed him nowTo have built in heaven high towers.
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Develop
To progress from earlier to later stages of evolution
Mammals developed during the Mesozoic Era.
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Build
To raise or place on a foundation; to form, establish, or produce by using appropriate means.
Who builds his hopes in air of your good looks.
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Develop
To acquire secondary sex characteristics. Used especially of a girl.
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Build
To increase and strengthen; to increase the power and stability of; to settle, or establish, and preserve; - frequently with up; as, to build up one's constitution.
I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up.
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Develop
(intransitive) To change with a specific direction, progress.
Let's see how things develop and then make our decision.
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Build
To rest or depend, as on a foundation; to ground one's self or one's hopes or opinions upon something deemed reliable; to rely; as, to build on the opinions or advice of others.
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Develop
(ambitransitive) To progress through a sequence of stages.
Isabel developed from a tropical depression to a tropical storm to a hurricane.
An embryo develops into a fetus and then into an infant.
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Build
Form or mode of construction; general figure; make; as, the build of a ship; a great build on a man.
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Develop
(transitive) To create.
I need to develop a plan for the next three weeks.
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Build
Alternative names for the body of a human being;
Leonardo studied the human body
He has a strong physique
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
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Develop
(transitive) To bring out images latent in photographic film.
Please develop this roll of film.
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Build
Make by combining materials and parts;
This little pig made his house out of straw
Some eccentric constructed an electric brassiere warmer
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Develop
(transitive) To acquire something usually over a period of time.
I have been in England enough to develop a British accent.
You will develop calluses if you play the cello.
She developed bad eating habits.
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Oct 19, 2023
Build
Form or accumulate steadily;
Resistance to the manager's plan built up quickly
Pressure is building up at the Indian-Pakistani border
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Develop
To place one's pieces actively.
I need to develop my white-square bishop.
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Oct 19, 2023
Develop
To cause a ball to become more open and available to be played on later. Usually by moving it away from the cushion, or by opening a pack.
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Develop
(math) To change the form of (an algebraic expression, etc.) by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
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Build
Order, supervise, or finance the construction of;
The government is building new schools in this state
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Develop
To free from that which infolds or envelops; to unfold; to lay open by degrees or in detail; to make visible or known; to disclose; to produce or give forth; as, to develop theories; a motor that develops 100 horse power.
These serve to develop its tenets.
The 20th was spent in strengthening our position and developing the line of the enemy.
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Build
Give form to, according to a plan;
Build a modern nation
Build a million-dollar business
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Develop
To unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud; hence, to bring through a succession of states or stages, each of which is preparatory to the next; to form or expand by a process of growth; to cause to change gradually from an embryo, or a lower state, to a higher state or form of being; as, sunshine and rain develop the bud into a flower; to develop the mind.
The sound developed itself into a real compound.
All insects . . . acquire the jointed legs before the wings are fully developed.
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Build
Be engaged in building;
These architects build in interesting and new styles
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Develop
To advance; to further; to prefect; to make to increase; to promote the growth of.
We must develop our own resources to the utmost.
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Build
Found or ground;
Build a defense on nothing but the accused person's reputation
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Develop
To change the form of, as of an algebraic expression, by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
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Build
Bolster or strengthen;
We worked up courage
Build up confidence
Ramp up security in the airports
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Develop
To cause to become visible, as an invisible or latent image upon plate, by submitting it to chemical agents; to bring to view.
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Build
Develop and grow;
Suspense was building right from the beginning of the opera
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Develop
To go through a process of natural evolution or growth, by successive changes from a less perfect to a more perfect or more highly organized state; to advance from a simpler form of existence to one more complex either in structure or function; as, a blossom develops from a bud; the seed develops into a plant; the embryo develops into a well-formed animal; the mind develops year by year.
Nor poets enough to understandThat life develops from within.
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Oct 19, 2023
Build
To construct by assembling parts or materials.
They plan to build a new bridge across the river.
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Nov 10, 2023
Develop
To become apparent gradually; as, a picture on sensitive paper develops on the application of heat; the plans of the conspirators develop.
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Build
Forming by combining materials or elements.
The artist builds sculptures using recycled materials.
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Develop
Make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation;
Her company developed a new kind of building material that withstands all kinds of weather
They developed a new technique
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Develop
Gain through experience;
I acquired a strong aversion to television
Children must develop a sense of right and wrong
Dave developed leadership qualities in his new position
Develop a passion for painting
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Develop
Come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes);
He grew a beard
The patient developed abdominal pains
I got funny spots all over my body
Well-developed breasts
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Develop
Come into existence; take on form or shape;
A new religious movement originated in that country
A love that sprang up from friendship
The idea for the book grew out of a short story
An interesting phenomenon uprose
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Develop
Change the use of and make available or usable;
Develop land
The country developed its natural resources
The remote areas of the country were gradually built up
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Develop
Elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses;
Could you develop the ideas in your thesis
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Develop
Create by training and teaching;
The old master is training world-class violinists
We develop the leaders for the future
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Develop
Be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest;
The plot developed slowly
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Develop
Grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment;
A flower developed on the branch
The country developed into a mighty superpower
The embryo develops into a fetus
This situation has developed over a long time
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Develop
Become technologically advanced;
Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace
Viet Nam is modernizing rapidly
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Develop
Cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development;
The perfect climate here develops the grain
He developed a new kind of apple
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Develop
Generate gradually;
We must develop more potential customers
Develop a market for the new mobile phone
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Develop
Grow emotionally or mature;
The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten
When he spent a summer at camp, the boy grew noticeably and no longer showed some of his old adolescent behavior
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Develop
Make visible by means of chemical solutions;
Please develop this roll of film for me
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Develop
Superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry
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Develop
Move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions;
Spassky developed quickly
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Develop
Move into a strategically more advantageous position;
Develop the rook
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Develop
Elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme;
Develop the melody and change the key
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Develop
Happen;
Report the news as it develops
These political movements recrudesce from time to time
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Develop
Expand in the form of a series;
Develop the function in the following form
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Develop
To grow or cause to grow and become more mature or advanced.
The developer plans to develop a new app.
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Develop
Bringing out the capabilities or possibilities of something.
They helped develop the community's potential.
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Develop
Elaborating or expanding upon an idea or theme.
The writer developed the plot with intricate details.
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Repeatedly Asked Queries
Do builders "develop" their projects?
In a sense, as they plan and refine their construction projects.
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Is software development a form of building?
Yes, it's often described as building software, though it's more intangible.
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Nov 10, 2023
Is "build" only used for physical structures?
Primarily, but it can also refer to non-physical concepts like relationships.
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Can "build" and "develop" be used interchangeably?
Not always, as they imply different processes and outcomes.
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Nov 10, 2023
Is "building" faster than "developing"?
Building can be faster as it's more immediate; developing is often gradual.
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Nov 10, 2023
Is "developing" limited to technology and business?
No, it applies to personal growth, ideas, communities, and more.
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Does "developing" a skill require practice?
Yes, as it involves gradual improvement and refinement.
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Can "build" refer to creating a team?
Yes, it can mean assembling a team with the right skills.
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Can "building" be a metaphor?
Yes, for constructing arguments, narratives, etc.
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Can "develop" imply physical growth?
Rarely; it's mostly used for intangible growth like skills or technologies.
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Nov 10, 2023
Is "develop" used in photography?
Yes, it refers to the process of making visible images from negatives.
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Nov 10, 2023
Do "build" and "develop" have similar end results?
They can, but "build" often results in tangible products, "develop" in intangible.
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Can "build" imply increasing in intensity?
Yes, like building tension or excitement.
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Does "develop" involve learning?
Often, as it implies gaining new skills or understanding.
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Can a person "build" their career?
Yes, implying they're constructing it step by step.
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Can one "build" an argument?
Yes, by assembling logical points and evidence.
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Is "developing" always a positive process?
Not necessarily; it depends on the context and outcome.
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Nov 10, 2023
Can organizations "build" their reputation?
Yes, by consistently demonstrating their values and capabilities.
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Nov 10, 2023
Is "developing" a quick process?
Usually not; it often involves careful planning and gradual progress.
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Nov 10, 2023
Do cities "develop" over time?
Yes, as they grow and change in various aspects.
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Nov 10, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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