heterogeneous

[ het-er-uh-jee-nee-uhs, -jeen-yuhs ]
See synonyms for: heterogeneousheterogeneousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. different in kind; unlike; incongruous.

  2. composed of parts of different kinds; having widely dissimilar elements or constituents: The party was attended by a heterogeneous group of artists, politicians, and social climbers.

  1. Chemistry. (of a mixture) composed of different substances or the same substance in different phases, as solid ice and liquid water.

Origin of heterogeneous

1
1615–25; <Medieval Latin heterogeneus<Greek heterogenḗs.See hetero-, gene, -ous

Other words for heterogeneous

Opposites for heterogeneous

Other words from heterogeneous

  • het·er·o·ge·ne·ous·ly, adverb
  • het·er·o·ge·ne·ous·ness, noun

Words that may be confused with heterogeneous

Words Nearby heterogeneous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use heterogeneous in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for heterogeneous

heterogeneous

/ (ˌhɛtərəʊˈdʒiːnɪəs) /


adjective
  1. composed of unrelated or differing parts or elements

  2. not of the same kind or type

  1. chem of, composed of, or concerned with two or more different phases: Compare homogeneous

Origin of heterogeneous

1
C17: from Medieval Latin heterogeneus, from Greek heterogenēs, from hetero- + genos sort

Derived forms of heterogeneous

  • heterogeneity (ˌhɛtərəʊdʒɪˈniːɪtɪ) or heterogeneousness, noun
  • heterogeneously, adverb

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