noun
-
the state or quality of being convex
-
a convex surface, object, etc; bulge
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of convexity
From the Latin word convexitās, dating back to 1590–1600. See convex, -ity
Explanation
The quality of something being round or curved in shape is its convexity. You could describe the convexity of a round, squat vase. The noun convexity is somewhat technical for everyday use — you're more likely to see it in a math textbook than to hear a friend use it to talk about a goldfish bowl. Still, it is a perfectly good way to describe anything that curves or bulges outward, whether it's the belly of a Chinese Buddha or a balloon. Convexity comes from the adjective convex, with its Latin root word convexus, "vaulted or arched."
Vocabulary lists containing convexity
The Lightning Thief
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The Call of Chtulhu
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The net of his discourse was that if you live inside a ball, you cannot have any conception of its outside convexity, until you get outside.
From Time Magazine Archive
This habit creates an excessive lenticular convexity which, over a period of time, causes a focal point in front of the retina, thereby producing a myopic or nearsighted condition.
From Time Magazine Archive
This convexity, this pimple of curiosity, this wart of circumspection, is indeed worthy of jest.
From Time Magazine Archive
The new 64 Convertible, as with other models recently designed in-house at Hatteras, incorporates a slight degree of convexity forward.
From Time Magazine Archive
“The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflections size should be off by a factor of—” “Would you speak English?”
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Mughal ceilings, let your mirrored convexities multiply me at once under your spell tonight.
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2021
A research staff works on a trading floor behind convexities of smoked glass, at cockpit-like desks of kid-glove Bentley leather with three screens apiece.
From New York Times ● Jan. 23, 2018
The lenses are usually plano-convex, the convexities being turned towards the object-glass in the negative eye-piece, and towards each other in the positive eye-piece.
From Half-hours with the Telescope Being a Popular Guide to the Use of the Telescope as a Means of Amusement and Instruction. by Proctor, Richard A. (Richard Anthony)
The surface is very uneven, with convexities and concavities on both sides.
From Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation by Vries, Hugo de
The convexities on one side of the fissure correspond with marked regularity to the concavities on the other.
From Wanderings by southern waters, eastern Aquitaine by Barker, Edward Harrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
