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View synonyms for dichotomy

dichotomy

[ dahy-kot-uh-mee ]

noun

, plural di·chot·o·mies.
  1. division into two parts, kinds, etc.; subdivision into halves or pairs.
  2. division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups:

    a dichotomy between thought and action.

  3. Botany. a mode of branching by constant forking, as in some stems, in veins of leaves, etc.
  4. Astronomy. the phase of the moon or of an inferior planet when half of its disk is visible.


dichotomy

/ daɪˈkɒtəmɪ; ˌdaɪkəʊˈtɒmɪk /

noun

  1. division into two parts or classifications, esp when they are sharply distinguished or opposed

    the dichotomy between eastern and western cultures

  2. logic the division of a class into two mutually exclusive subclasses

    the dichotomy of married and single people

  3. botany a simple method of branching by repeated division into two equal parts
  4. the phase of the moon, Venus, or Mercury when half of the disc is visible


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Usage

Dichotomy should always refer to a division of some kind into two groups. It is sometimes used to refer to a puzzling situation which seems to involve a contradiction, but this use is generally thought to be incorrect

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Derived Forms

  • diˈchotomously, adverb
  • diˈchotomous, adjective

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Other Words From

  • di·cho·tom·ic [dahy-k, uh, -, tom, -ik], adjective
  • di·cho·tom·i·cal·ly adverb
  • sub·di·chot·o·my noun plural subdichotomies

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Word History and Origins

Origin of dichotomy1

First recorded in 1580–90; from Late Latin dichotomia, from Greek dichotomía “dividing in two (of the quarters of the moon), point of a bisection, division into two parts”; dicho-, -tomy

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Word History and Origins

Origin of dichotomy1

C17: from Greek dichotomia; see dicho- , -tomy

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Example Sentences

This is a dichotomy hatched by Ailes, who realized that he could get away with lunacy at night if he balanced it with something approaching sanity during the day.

This dichotomy between nucleated and nonnucleated life became fundamental to biology.

Even Powell’s attacks on Republican leaders hew to that dichotomy.

Despite that dichotomy, every major decision must be agreed upon by both of us.

From Fortune

Work by University of Oxford anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse suggests that rituals exist on either side of a dichotomy.

Both heroines are women, but they offer a pretty bizarre dichotomy for girls: Ice queen or ditzy princess.

To be sure, there is often a stark dichotomy between so-called opinion leaders and rank and file believers.

This is the baffling, awkward dichotomy that is MTV in 2014.

No, the whole point of a superhero with a secret identity is the dichotomy.

It was this dichotomy that made Don a fascinating, layered character.

This phenomenon may be explained by what Semon calls alternating ecphoria in mnemic dichotomy.

Similarly, the engram of the ecphoriated dichotomy is most often that which has been previously most often repeated.

The nature of the universe is proved too subtle for this dichotomy.

Therefore, discovery of an early dichotomy from the common ancestral stock of the tribe would come as no surprise.

There is a term in logic—dichotomy—a sharp division, a cutting in two, an opposing of contradictories.

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dichotomous questiondichroic