homogeneous

[ hoh-muh-jee-nee-uhs, -jeen-yuhs, hom-uh- ]

adjective

1. composed of parts or elements that are all of the same kind; not heterogeneous:

   a homogeneous population.

   Synonyms: unvarying, identical, similar, alike, unmixed

2. of the same kind or nature; essentially alike.
3. Mathematics.
   1. having a common property throughout:

      a homogeneous solid figure.

   2. having all terms of the same degree:

      a homogeneous equation.

   3. relating to a function of several variables that becomes multiplied by some power of a constant when each variable is multiplied by that constant: x 2 y 3 is a homogeneous expression of degree 5.
   4. relating to a differential equation in which a linear combination of derivatives is set equal to zero.

homogeneous

/ ˌhɒm-; ˌhəʊməʊdʒɪˈniːɪtɪ; ˌhəʊməˈdʒiːnɪəs; ˌhɒm- /

adjective

1. composed of similar or identical parts or elements
2. of uniform nature
3. similar in kind or nature
4. having a constant property, such as density, throughout
5. maths
   1. (of a polynomial) containing terms of the same degree with respect to all the variables, as in x ² + 2 xy + y ²
   2. (of a function) containing a set of variables such that when each is multiplied by a constant, this constant can be eliminated without altering the value of the function, as in cos x / y + x / y
   3. (of an equation) containing a homogeneous function made equal to 0
6. chem of, composed of, or concerned with a single phase Compare heterogeneous

Derived Forms

• ˌhomoˈgeneousness, noun
• ˌhomoˈgeneously, adverb
• homogeneity, noun

Other Word Forms

• homo·gene·ous·ly adverb
• nonho·mo·gene·ous adjective
• nonho·mo·gene·ous·ly adverb
• nonho·mo·gene·ous·ness noun
• unho·mo·gene·ous adjective
• unho·mo·gene·ous·ly adverb
• unho·mo·gene·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of homogeneous¹

First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin homogeneus, from homogene-, stem of Greek homogenḗs “of the same kind” ( homo-, gene ) + -us -ous

Example Sentences

I’m always developing jokes for me, and I’m mindful of who might be in the audience, but I’m very lucky in that I don’t have a homogeneous audience.

From Los Angeles Times

“How do you rebuild a community like that? It’s not going to be done by people who want to build a homogeneous, monotonous world,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

This makes Canada "a very different place than a place that has a homogeneous population," he argues.

From BBC

They are by no means a homogeneous voting demographic, but historically, Latinos have tended to favour the Democrats.

From BBC

Through their writing, both authors hope to offer readers a different look at Italisan cuisine, which can sometimes erroneously be discarded as heavy and homogeneous.

From Salon

More About Homogeneous

What does homogeneous mean?

Homogeneous most generally means consisting of parts or elements that are all the same. Something that is homogeneous is uniform in nature or character throughout.

Homogeneous can also be used to describe multiple things that are all essentially alike or of the same kind.

In the context of chemistry, homogeneous is used to describe a mixture that is uniform in structure or composition. The verb homogenize means to make something homogeneous. To homogenize milk is to blend it in a way that results in the milk fat being evenly distributed throughout it. The state of being homogeneous is homogeneity.

The general sense of homogeneous can be used interchangeably with the word homogenous (which is spelled without a second e and is pronounced differently). When used in this general way, homogenous is more commonly used than homogeneous. Homogenous is also used in the context of biology to mean corresponding in structure due to either a common origin or a common environment.

The opposite of most senses of homogeneous is heterogeneous, which most generally means consisting of different, distinguishable parts or elements.

Example: This suburb is so homogeneous—even the houses all look the same.

Where does homogeneous come from?

The first records of the word homogeneous come from around 1640. It comes from the Greek homogenḗs, meaning “of the same kind,” from homo-, “same,” and génos, “kind.”

In every context in which it’s used, homogeneous is used to describe things that are essentially alike or uniform throughout—without any or much variation. The word homogeneous may sound a bit more technical than homogenous and it usually is. In chemistry, homogeneous mixtures are those whose parts are evenly mixed. In math, homogeneous is used to describe things like equations that have similar elements or common properties. In sociology, a society that has little diversity is considered homogeneous.

When used generally, homogeneous is often associated with things that are considered biased, boring, or bland due to being all the same.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms of homogeneous?

• homogeneously (adverb)
• nonhomogeneous (adjective)
• homogeneousness (noun)
• homogeneity (noun)
• homogenize (verb)

What are some synonyms for homogeneous?

• homogeneous
• uniform
• unvarying
• alike
• similar
• identical

What are some words that share a root or word element with homogeneous? 

 

• homophone
• homonym
• heterogeneous
• genus

What are some words that often get used in discussing homogeneous?

• same
• mixture
• culture
• society
• boring
• variety
• diversity

What are some words homogeneous may be commonly confused with?

 

• homogenous
• heterogeneous

 

How is homogeneous used in real life?

The word homogeneous is used in many technical and scientific contexts, but it’s also used generally.

If a school is diverse but its AP & Honors classes are racially homogeneous, that’s a huge disservice to those AP & Honors students. It doesn’t foster diversity of thought, empathy, critical thinking… There’s no advancement or honor in that.

— IBI ZOBOI (@ibizoboi) January 7, 2020

1. I want to talk about ADHD. I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 13-years-old. To say it's misunderstood (both by people who have ADHD and people who don't have it) is an understatement. What people need to understand about those of us who have ADHD is we are not homogeneous

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 26, 2019

[manager looks out at team] why is no-one innovating!?

> well sir, you hired based on culture fit, so you created a homogeneous workforce

> …right.

— I Am Devloper (@iamdevloper) January 22, 2020

 

 

Try using homogeneous!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of homogeneous?

A. diverse
B. uniform
C. alike
D. similar