asynchrony
noun
asyn·chro·ny
(ˌ)ā-ˈsiŋ-krə-nē 
-ˈsin-
variants
or asynchronism
(ˌ)ā-ˈsiŋ-krə-ˌni-zəm
-ˈsin-
: the quality or state of being asynchronous : absence or lack of concurrence in time
Examples of asynchrony in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The phenomenon is called seasonal asynchrony, and a new study finds these perplexing locations appear in tropical mountains of countries like Costa Rica as well as places like California that have Mediterranean climates.
—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
For example, plants and fungi acclimate to the new environment at different rates, suggesting a potentially problematic asynchrony that could disrupt ecological communities as warmer temperatures creep up mountainsides.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Rood has a sterling, gleaming tone and magnificent control — though her distance from the stage here and there resulted in slight asynchronies between the orchestra and the action.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
Letters accept the absence of their addressee and the asynchrony of contact—and out of those constraints make another kind of presence possible.
—Kamran Javadizadeh, The New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2021
In ICUs in the United States, the share of patients on ventilators who experience severe asynchrony has been estimated to be between 12 and 43 percent.
—Behnood Gholami, IEEE Spectrum, 24 Sep. 2018
To figure out what causes this asynchrony, the researchers looked at participant’s brains using structural magnetic resonance imaging, which uses radio waves to view internal organs.
—Roni Dengler, Science | AAAS, 14 Dec. 2017
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N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
For example, plants and fungi acclimate to the new environment at different rates, suggesting a potentially problematic asynchrony that could disrupt ecological communities as warmer temperatures creep up mountainsides.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Rood has a sterling, gleaming tone and magnificent control — though her distance from the stage here and there resulted in slight asynchronies between the orchestra and the action.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
Letters accept the absence of their addressee and the asynchrony of contact—and out of those constraints make another kind of presence possible.
—Kamran Javadizadeh, The New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2021
In ICUs in the United States, the share of patients on ventilators who experience severe asynchrony has been estimated to be between 12 and 43 percent.
—Behnood Gholami, IEEE Spectrum, 24 Sep. 2018
To figure out what causes this asynchrony, the researchers looked at participant’s brains using structural magnetic resonance imaging, which uses radio waves to view internal organs.
—Roni Dengler, Science | AAAS, 14 Dec. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Asynchrony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/asynchrony. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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