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  

/ ˌdaɪkəʊˈtɒmɪk, 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

"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

That dichotomy of rising crude and soaring U.S. stocks, however, doesn’t faze Jean Boivin, who heads BlackRock’s Investment Institute.

From Barron's • May 12, 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

But, as time went on, no one seemed to get the dichotomy of “Dawson’s” better than the show’s lead actor, James Van Der Beek.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026

The same moralistic dichotomy that Jefferson saw inside the United States between discernible heroes and villains, he also projected into the international arena.

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

Related Words

• difference of opinion