duality

[doo-al-i-tee, dyoo-]

noun

1. a dual state or quality.

2. Mathematics.,  a symmetry within a mathematical system such that a theorem remains valid if certain objects, relations, or operations are interchanged, as the interchange of points and lines in a plane in projective geometry.

duality

/ djuːˈælɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being two or in two parts; dichotomy

2. physics the principle that a wave-particle duality exists in microphysics in which wave theory and corpuscular theory are complementary. The propagation of electromagnetic radiation is analysed using wave theory but its interaction with matter is described in terms of photons. The condition of particles such as electrons, neutrons, and atoms is described in terms of de Broglie waves

3. geometry the interchangeability of the roles of the point and the plane in statements and theorems in projective geometry

Other Word Forms

• nonduality noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of duality¹

1350–1400; Middle English dualitie < Late Latin duālitās. See dual, -ity

Example Sentences

“You have to have something savory with something sweet to really enjoy it. I don’t want it to feel generic. It’s a more genuine expression if it has duality.”

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And for me, as an actor, the duality of those two characters becomes much more interesting when you can cast those personalities as far away from each other as possible.

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Sweeney’s observations about this duality, as seen through O’Brien’s characters, dilute the romanticized notion that having an identical double shields a person from isolation.

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It’s the first offering from his debut EP, “Gemini” — “It’s about the duality of my music, I can’t be put into a box,” he says — which is set for a Sept. 19 release.

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But is that duality of reaping the business benefits while pushing on the human rights transgressions, even possible?

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Related Words

• artifice 
• chicanery 
• deceit 
• dishonesty 
• falsehood 
• hypocrisy