heterogeneous

[ het-er-uh-jee-nee-uhs, -jeen-yuhs ]

adjective

1. different in kind; unlike; incongruous.
2. composed of parts of different kinds; having widely dissimilar elements or constituents:

   The party was attended by a heterogeneous group of artists, politicians, and social climbers.

   Synonyms: diverse, varied

   Antonyms: homogeneous

3. Chemistry. (of a mixture) composed of different substances or the same substance in different phases, as solid ice and liquid water.

heterogeneous

/ ˌhɛtərəʊdʒɪˈniːɪtɪ; ˌhɛtərəʊˈdʒiːnɪəs /

adjective

1. composed of unrelated or differing parts or elements
2. not of the same kind or type
3. chem of, composed of, or concerned with two or more different phases Compare homogeneous

Derived Forms

• ˌheteroˈgeneously, adverb
• heterogeneity, noun

Other Words From

• heter·o·gene·ous·ly adverb
• heter·o·gene·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of heterogeneous¹

1615–25; < Medieval Latin heterogeneus < Greek heterogenḗs. See hetero-, gene, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of heterogeneous¹

C17: from Medieval Latin heterogeneus, from Greek heterogenēs, from hetero- + genos sort

Example Sentences

Ultimately, says Ms de Bolle in Washington, the Brics are "a heterogeneous group of countries that have nothing in common, apart from the fact that they are big".

From BBC

"Aging is an incredibly heterogeneous process that affects everyone differently," says Karlseder.

From Science Daily

Dr Ramos continued: "These results underscore the key role of embracing diversity in promoting stronger social bonds and enhancing overall societal cohesion. Having heterogeneous rather than homogeneous social networks is associated with the highest levels of social cohesion, which is a key source of well-being and provides empirical evidence that people from different groups -- regardless of age, income, race, and other characteristics can benefit from living in harmony together."

From Science Daily

"Colorectal cancer is very, very heterogeneous, which has made it difficult for many years to classify these tumors in order to inform therapy," said senior author Dr. Jorge Moscat, Homer T. Hirst III Professor of Oncology in Pathology and Vice-Chair for Cell and Cancer Pathobiology in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.

From Science Daily

“I don’t know whether we would see a single far right group as they continue to be, internally, fairly heterogeneous.”

From BBC