dichotomous

adjective

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di·chot·o·mous | \ dī-ˈkä-tə-məs

also də- \

Definition of dichotomous

1 : dividing into two parts

2 : relating to, involving, or proceeding from dichotomy the plant's dichotomous branching a dichotomous approach can't be split into dichotomous categories

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Examples of dichotomous in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web These journeys between government and venture may seem anomalous, but ostensibly dichotomous skill sets required for success in public service and venture capital may be more analogous than self-evident. — Deena Shakir, Forbes, "Turning Science Fiction Into Fact: 3 Reasons Why VC & DC Work Better Together," 11 Mar. 2021 Balancing dichotomous opinions on prairie dogs and public land is a taxing job for federal officials, one that requires dedication. — Ula Chrobak, Popular Science, "The fight to save America’s most endangered mammal," 5 Mar. 2021 The two story-strands come together midway in a scene that captures the book’s dichotomous mood. — Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, "Children’s Books: Free Range," 31 Dec. 2020 Transracial adoption is often understood in dichotomous terms – a fairy tale or nightmare, an act of grace or, in one of the most extreme takes, a form of genocide. — Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, "‘We’re not projects’: Transracial adoptees insist on being seen," 1 Dec. 2020 So as the 2020 Major League Soccer season comes to a close with just seven games remaining, Salt Lake is facing a dichotomous situation that shares the same metric. — Alex Vejar, The Salt Lake Tribune, "RSL not panicking, but feels importance of game against Vancouver Whitecaps," 9 Oct. 2020 But suggesting that hackers and feds are dichotomous and dissimilar doesn’t reflect reality. — Sarah Scoles, Wired, "The Feds Want These Teams to Hack a Satellite—From Home," 6 Aug. 2020 The dichotomous view of the sexes that held sway in the last century has given way to one that sees differences mainly in degree rather than kind. — Cordelia Fine, Scientific American, "Promiscuous Men, Chaste Women and Other Gender Myths," 1 Sep. 2017 In Weiss’s Marat/Sade, the two historical figures embody the most radical expressions of these dichotomous forms of rebellion: the political and the individual. — Mitchell Abidor, The New York Review of Books, "Reading Sade in the Age of Epstein," 12 Feb. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dichotomous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.