bifurcated

adjective

bi·​fur·​cat·​ed ˈbī-(ˌ)fər-ˌkā-təd 

bī-ˈfər-

: divided into two branches or parts

This near-earth asteroid appears as a bifurcated structure, consisting of two distinct lobes that seem to be in contact.

—Richard P. Binzel et al.

The town is a bifurcated community—two distinct communities in one, really.

—Dennis Farney

… the strange bifurcated world of whiteness and blackness in which I was born and reared.

—William Styron

Examples of bifurcated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After going back and forth over conflicting schedules, the parties arrived at March 2 for oral arguments on outstanding issues — including for the bifurcated trial — and April 10 for a mental evaluation to be conducted by an expert chosen by prosecutors. —Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 21 Feb. 2026

Boatwright’s observations lend more evidence to a bifurcated economy, where the rich are getting richer and continuing to spend, while the poor tighten their belts and continue to pull back. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2026

Yet in today’s ideologically bifurcated society, the exact opposite is now true. —Sheldon Jacobson, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2026

The lone exceptions have been health care – an industry growing as a result of an aging population – and leisure and hospitality, which has reaped some of the spoils from an increasingly bifurcated economy. —Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bifurcated

• abdicated
• abrogated
• acclimated
• activated
• actuated
• adumbrated
• advocated
• aggravated
• aggregated
• agitated
• allocated
• alternated