dichotomy Hear it!

dichotomy Definition

di·choto·my (-mē)

noun pl. -·mies

  1. division into two parts, groups, or classes, esp. when these are sharply distinguished or opposed
  2. Astron. the appearance of the moon or of a planet when half of the surface facing the earth is illuminated
  3. Biol. a dividing or branching into two equal parts, esp. when repeated

Etymology: Gr dichotomia: see dicho- & -tomy

dichotomy Related Forms

di·chot′o·mous (-məs) adjective di·chot′o·mously adverb

dichotomy Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • view: Resolution of this dichotomy of view is an urgent component of NCA's immediate horizon.
  • nature: This is an attempt to break away from the dichotomy of nature versus nurture.

Converse of object

  • overcome: It will be possible to be truly moral only in a world which has overcome these dichotomies.
  • reject: Supporters of the third way rejected the old dichotomies of left/right politics: state vs. market, individualism vs. society, rights vs. responsibilities.
  • perceive: Our basis for the case studies is that this division mirrors a perceived dichotomy between left- and right-brained modes of cognitive processing.
  • explore: Lorraine's purely instrumental music explores a similar dichotomy.
  • create: It was almost as tho God wanted to create a nice little dichotomy.
  • accept: And I don't accept the dichotomy of buildings versus people.

Preposition: in

theory: Minimalism versus constructionism: A false dichotomy in theories of inference in reading.

Adjective modifier

  • religion-secular: I will leave an account of the historical problem of the religion-secular dichotomy to the end of this paper.
  • public/private: Themes of the conference focused around the public/private dichotomy in education and the implications of this for educational research.
  • false: These are just false dichotomies, my friends... Maybe a way to construct an identity.
  • apparent: Unfortunately, the results of this audit do not aid in the elucidation of this apparent dichotomy due to inadequate design.
  • fundamental: There is one Julia set for each value of c. The fundamental dichotomy This Julia set is a Cantor set.

Noun used with modifier

  • subject-object: This means that each subject-object dichotomy is also unique.
  • gender: However, my participants and I struggled to talk about our sexuality completely outside of a gender dichotomy.
  • mind/body: In what cultural contexts do mind/body dichotomies appear, and what are their consequences for healing practices?
  • human/nature: What I'd like to talk about today is something a bit different: human/nature dichotomies and their practical effects.
  • inside/outside: And Green, inadvertently, suggests a candidate departure point by accepting the inside/outside dichotomy, seemingly without argument.