asymmetry

[ ey-sim-i-tree ]

noun

1. the quality or state of being asymmetric.

asymmetry

/ eɪ-; æˈsɪmɪtrɪ /

noun

1. lack or absence of symmetry in spatial arrangements or in mathematical or logical relations

Word History and Origins

Origin of asymmetry¹

First recorded in 1645–55, asymmetry is from the Greek word asymmetría lack of proportion. See a- ⁶, symmetry

Example Sentences

This leads to more serious limb asymmetry, or the contrast between morning and evening conditions at a planet's opposite sides.

From Salon

Analyzing the planet's terminators, or the moving line separating the daylight and nocturnal sides of a given world, the scientists realized that there was tremendous asymmetry.

From Salon

"For example, more detailed cloud or haze models, especially ones focused on specific species, may affect the shapes differently or even induce relative slopes across the spectra. Disentangling these details will require more observations over a wider wavelength coverage as well as much more complex multi-dimensional modelling. Nevertheless, our results show that recovering the separate properties of a transiting exoplanet’s morning and evening terminators is possible, and that WASP-107 b exhibits significant morning-to-evening asymmetry."

From Salon

The fact that mature democracies don’t collapse into authoritarianism, even under the leadership of wannabe dictators like Donald Trump, points to a crucial asymmetry in the graph: While autocracies can and do become democracies, and while some democracies can become autocracies, mature democracies never cross from the far right of the graph to the far left.

From Salon

There’s a complete asymmetry in the level of destruction and suffering that each side can inflict on the other.

From BBC

Related Words

• imbalance
• inequality