disequilibrium

noun

dis·​equi·​lib·​ri·​um (ˌ)dis-ˌē-kwə-ˈli-brē-əm How to pronounce disequilibrium (audio)
-ˌe-kwə-
: loss or lack of equilibrium

Examples of disequilibrium in a Sentence

The condition is caused by a disequilibrium in the brain's chemistry.
Recent Examples on the Web This analysis is not new, and its plausibility rests on explaining away the powerful European Central Bank and on a blanket assertion that the EU is in disequilibrium and might change. Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2016 Researchers also see empathic disequilibrium as a possibility for some people. Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 3 Oct. 2023 One of my ideas was to place a figure from the Age of Enlightenment, a humanist, in a sort of psychic disequilibrium. Anderson Tepper, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2023 If disequilibrium equals opportunity, Zero Party Data Analytics just might provide both retailers and brands with a …new compass. Gary Drenik, Forbes, 8 June 2022 In contrast additive effects are less sensitive to decay in linkage disequilibrium, which measures the association of alleles across genes, so that one marker may serve as a signal for the presence of another variant down or up the genome. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 5 Mar. 2013 From first principles, this approach can replicate the most obvious example of atmospheric disequilibrium today on our planet—the presence of oxygen and traces of methane (the latter being the gentle exhalations of the once mighty methanogen biosphere). Lee Billings, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2018 Using the most sensitive measure of recent consanguinity, a statistic of run of homozygosity pruned of markers in linkage disequilibrium, the authors did not find a strong effect of magnitude of inbreeding increasing the depression. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2012 That's called disequilibrium. David Meyer, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'disequilibrium.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of disequilibrium was in 1840

Dictionary Entries Near disequilibrium

Cite this Entry

“Disequilibrium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disequilibrium. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

disequilibrium

noun
dis·​equi·​lib·​ri·​um (ˌ)dis-ˌē-kwə-ˈlib-rē-əm, -ˌek-wə- How to pronounce disequilibrium (audio)
plural disequilibriums or disequilibria -rē-ə How to pronounce disequilibrium (audio)
: loss or lack of equilibrium
ionic disequilibrium in a resting nerve cell
emotional disequilibrium

More from Merriam-Webster on disequilibrium

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