heterochromatic

[ het-er-uh-kroh-mat-ik, -oh-kruh- ]

adjective

1. of, having, or pertaining to more than one color.
2. having a pattern of mixed colors.
3. Genetics. of or relating to heterochromatin.

heterochromatic

/ ˌhɛtərəʊkrəʊˈmætɪk /

adjective

1. of or involving many different colours
2. physics consisting of or concerned with different frequencies or wavelengths

Derived Forms

• ˌheteroˈchromatism, noun

Other Words From

• het·er·o·chro·ma·tism [het-er-, uh, -, kroh, -m, uh, -tiz-, uh, m], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of heterochromatic¹

First recorded in 1890–95; hetero- + chromatic

Example Sentences

This so-called heterochromatic block stretches from between 17.6 million to 37.2 million bases long in different men; it’s the largest such block in the human genome.

From Science Magazine

Like the film before it, Titan’s The Man Who Fell to Earth will tell the story of Thomas Jerome Newton, a humanoid alien with Bowie’s signature heterochromatic eyes who comes to Earth on a desperate mission in search of water that his home planet desperately needs.

From The Verge

It was the kind of heartwarming scene that only postseason baseball can provide, and as has been the case through thick and thin over the years, Max Scherzer was there to lead the way for the Nats with the signature celly of the night: A pair of custom heterochromatic beer goggles.

From Golf Digest

One possibility is that the transition of olfactory-receptor genes from a repressed, heterochromatic state to an active state requires many LHX2 binding sites to ensure that enough chromatin-remodelling proteins, which are necessary for this transition, are recruited.

From Nature

But Parsons had no choice when she met 8-month-old Elsa and her heterochromatic eyes.

From Seattle Times