multipolar

adjective

mul·​ti·​po·​lar ˌməl-tē-ˈpō-lər 

-ˌtī-

1

: having several poles (see pole entry 3)

a multipolar generator

multipolar mitoses

2

: having several dendrites

multipolar neurons

3

: characterized by more than two centers of power or interest

a multipolar world

multipolarity

ˌməl-tē-pō-ˈler-ə-tē 

-ˈla-rə-tē

-ˌtī-

noun

Examples of multipolar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Toward a multipolar world In recent years, a new multipolar world has emerged with at least four distinct sources of power. —John Rennie Short, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025

India insists that a multipolar world requires a multipolar Asia. —Shyam Saran, Time, 10 Sep. 2025

This undermines the dollar’s dominance in the energy trade ecosystem and makes a multipolar financial world closer to a reality. —Earl Carr, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2025

Brasília increasingly views the rise of a multipolar world—driven by a number of major powers and the growing assertiveness of the global South—as both an imperative and an opportunity. —Hussein Kalout, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for multipolar

• ambipolar
• areolar
• bronchiolar
• circumpolar
• equimolar
• monopolar
• nucleolar
• unipolar
• vacuolar
• arteriolar
• microcontroller
• bipolar

Medical Definition

multipolar

adjective

mul·​ti·​po·​lar ˌməl-ti-ˈpō-lər  -ˌtī- 

1

: having several poles

multipolar mitoses

2

: having several dendrites

multipolar nerve cells

multipolarity

-pō-ˈlar-ət-ē 

noun

plural multipolarities