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isotropic

American  
[ahy-suh-trop-ik, -troh-pik] / ˌaɪ səˈtrɒp ɪk, -ˈtroʊ pɪk /
Also isotropous

adjective

  1. Physics. of equal physical properties along all axes.

  2. Zoology. lacking axes that are predetermined, as in some eggs.


isotropic British  
/ ˌaɪsəʊˈtrɒpɪk /

adjective

  1. having uniform physical properties in all directions

  2. biology not having predetermined axes

    isotropic eggs

"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

isotropic Scientific  
/ ī′sə-trō′pĭk,-trŏp′ĭk /
  1. Identical in all directions; invariant with respect to direction. For example, isotropic scattering of light by a substance entails that the intensity of light radiated is the same in all directions.

  2. Compare anisotropic


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of isotropic

First recorded in 1860–65; iso- + -tropic

Compare meaning

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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:

This type of material is known as an "isotropic bandgap material."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2025

During their analysis, the scientists observed that every isotropic bandgap material exhibited a shared structural signature.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2025

One might be tempted to simplify matters and build only antennas that send equal-strength signals in every direction at once, which are called isotropic antennas.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 18, 2023

The authors then confirmed this finding using a mechanical model of the outer surface, in which the lengths of cell–cell interfaces were minimized, encouraging isotropic shapes.

From Nature ● Sep. 9, 2018

The electromagnetic fields appear as ultimate, irreducible realities, and at first it seems superfluous to postulate a homogeneous, isotropic ether-medium, and to envisage electromagnetic fields as states of this medium.

From Sidelights on Relativity by Albert Einstein

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