dichotomy

American  

[dahy-kot-uh-mee] / daɪˈkɒt ə mi /

noun

• dichotomies
  plural

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.

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dichotomy British  

/ daɪˈkɒtəmɪ /

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subdichotomy
  noun
• dichotomic
  adjective
• dichotomous
  adjective
• dichotomically
  adverb
• dichotomously
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dichotomies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dichotomy

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”; see origin at dicho-, -tomy

Explanation

A dichotomy is an idea or classification split in two. When you point out a dichotomy, you draw a clear distinction between two things. A dichotomy is a contrast between two things. When there are two ideas, especially two opposed ideas — like war and peace, or love and hate — you have a dichotomy. You often hear about a "false dichotomy," which occurs when a situation is unfairly represented as an "either/or" scenario. For example, the statement "All cars are either small and efficient or large and polluting" creates a false dichotomy because there are some cars that don't fit into either category.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dichotomy dichotomies

"It's bohemian but it's also populated by some of the richest people in the world. It's a strange dichotomy."

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

I do think that a lot of these AI companies benefit from this dichotomy, but you’re saying that it’s not immoral to use AI, it’s a question of who’s using it, right?

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

"But what we saw was a real dichotomy between the weather on both sides of the planet, and huge differences in cloud coverage, and that changes our whole picture of the planet."

From Science Daily ● May 27, 2026

While that dichotomy can be confusing to some on TikTok, it fits together in Kempczinski’s effort to drive as much traffic as possible to restaurants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

Plenty of people, Colin included, had noted the Dumper/Dumpee dichotomy before.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

The publication sparked backlash from climate scientists who accused Gates of making arguments based on "false dichotomies" - pitting mitigation and adaptation against each other.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

It doesn’t seem nearly as big as the dot-com bubble, and the dichotomies don’t seem extreme, as in the 1990s.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

His is a movie that brims with lyricism instead, and hangs on its threadbare plot these many poetic dichotomies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2025

Oh, and I do have one final question: Doesn’t the Christian quadrilateral protect us from the false dichotomies you imply?

From Washington Times ● Jun. 20, 2023

Jefferson’s mind consistently saw the world in terms of clashing dichotomies: Whigs versus Tories; moderns versus ancients; America versus Europe; rural conditions versus urban; whites versus blacks.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• difference of opinion