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diametrical

or di·a·met·ric

[dahy-uh-me-tri-kuh l or dahy-uh-me-trik]
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or along a diameter.
  2. in direct opposition; being at opposite extremes; complete: diametrical opposites; a diametrical difference.
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Origin of diametrical

1545–55; < Greek diametrik(ós) (diámetr(os) diameter + -ikos -ic) + -al1
Related formsdi·a·met·ri·cal·ly, adverbun·di·a·met·ric, adjectiveun·di·a·met·ri·cal, adjectiveun·di·a·met·ri·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

diametricaladverseantipodalantitheticalconflictingcontradictorycontrarycontrastingconversecounterfacingoppositepolarreverseantipodean

Examples from the Web for diametric

Historical Examples

  • But it has another aspect, or rather another pole, for the opposition is diametric.

    The Crown of Wild Olive

    John Ruskin

  • The psychology of each must be diametric, for if there is no government to make money there is no money to counterfeit.

    Wings of the Wind

    Credo Harris

  • When he woke, he understood that his soul had undergone another of its diametric inversions.

    Gladiator

    Philip Wylie

  • The diametric growth of the shell is effected by the growth of the radii and al, and chiefly by that of the former.

  • The al have oblique summits, and the rather narrow portion added during the diametric growth of the shell, is white.

British Dictionary definitions for diametric

diametric

diametrical

adjective
  1. Also: diametral of, related to, or along a diameter
  2. completely opposed
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for diametric

adj.

1802, probably shortened from diametrical (1550s); see diameter + -ical.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper