bifurcated

[bahy-fer-key-tid, bahy-fur-]

adjective

1. divided or forked into two separate aspects or branches.

   In Star Trek, Spock and Kirk together represent a bifurcated hero, with each character representing one aspect of the human condition.

   The bifurcated fiber optic cable transmits light with half its fibers, while the other half act to detect reflected light.

2. Law.,  (of a trial) occurring in two separate parts, often with determination of guilt in the first part and sentencing or awarding of damages in the second.

   The same jury will usually hear both phases of a bifurcated trial.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of bifurcate.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bifurcated¹

First recorded in 1710–20; bifurcate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; bifurcate ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

But some companies cautioned that consumers are increasingly bifurcated, with high income households spending strongly while younger and lower-income consumers are under strain.

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The U.S. has kept growing despite a “two-speed” or bifurcated economy — but any prolonged slump on Wall Street could threaten the status quo.

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“If you listen to the earnings calls or the reports of big, public consumer-facing companies, many of them are saying that there’s a bifurcated economy,” Powell said after last month’s Fed policy meeting.

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The oil complex is “grinding forward on a bifurcated narrative” of tight product supplies against “what’s supposed to be a looser crude market,” Neil Crosby of Sparta Commodities says in a note.

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The entertainment industry has gotten really confusing and bifurcated.

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