dichotomy

noun di·chot·o·my \ dī-ˈkä-tə-mē also də- \

Definition of dichotomy

plural dichotomies

1 :a division into two especially mutually exclusive or contradictory groups or entities

the dichotomy between theory and practice

; also :the process or practice of making such a division

dichotomy of the population into two opposed classes

2 :the phase of the moon or an inferior planet in which half its disk appears illuminated

3 a :bifurcation; especially :repeated bifurcation (as of a plant's stem)

b :a system of branching in which the main axis forks repeatedly into two branches

c :branching of an ancestral line into two equal diverging branches

4 :something with seemingly contradictory qualities

it's a dichotomy, this opulent Ritz-style luxury in a place that fronts on a boat harbor
—Jean T. Barrett

See dichotomy defined for English-language learners

See dichotomy defined for kids

Examples of dichotomy in a Sentence

The amusing spectacle of the recent presidential vote in Florida should remind us of the persistence of the federal-state dichotomy. —Eugene Genovese, Atlantic, March 2001
At the close of this millennium, the favored dichotomy features a supposed battle called "the science wars." —Stephen Jay Gould, Science, 14 Jan. 2000
… to insist on its being either symbol or fact is to dwell needlessly on a false dichotomy. —Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches, 1988
… the Inuit concept of their environment was centred around the dichotomy between land and sea. —Ian Hodder, Reading the Past, 1986
Her essay discusses the dichotomy between good and evil in the author's novels.
her outfit is a sartorial dichotomy: an elegant gown and ratty old tennis shoes

Recent Examples of dichotomy from the Web

Such a development would illustrate the dichotomy between Trump’s disastrous favorability ratings among all voters and his shrinking but still strong numbers among Republicans, which currently rest in the high 70s.

— jonathan s. tobin, National Review, "How to Give Jeff Flake’s Senate Seat to a Democrat," 18 Aug. 2017
The clash couldn't have featured a starker dichotomy in fighting style.

— NOLA.com, "1892: A gentleman, a brawler and the New Orleans fight that reinvented boxing," 15 Aug. 2017
So how will Fox handle the dichotomy between present-day urgency and Pace’s investments for the future?

— dan wiederer, chicagotribune.com, "As camp begins, what do we really know about the 2017 Bears?," 24 July 2017
Koene recently co-authored a study on snails that sought to understand the kind of nutrient exchange that occurs when species mate outside of the male-female dichotomy.

— joshua rapp learn, Smithsonian, "Why Snail Sex is Like a Box of Chocolates," 21 July 2017
The great dichotomy of the rap world was on display Friday at American Airlines Center.

— matthew martinez, star-telegram, "In hip-hop, there’s Kendrick Lamar, and then there’s everyone else," 15 July 2017
Arriving at the Vogue offices dressed in a girlish Marc Jacobs frock layered beneath a Zana Bayne harness, Kargman is a walking dichotomy.

— edward barsamian, Vogue, "Odd Mom Out’s Jill Kargman On Going Goth and Season 3’s Wardrobe," 11 July 2017
On the field, there has been no such dichotomy, no hint of apprehension.

— dom amore, courant.com, "Here Comes The Yankees' Judge: He's The Real Deal," 10 July 2017
This Manichean dichotomy means that there’s no way for any reasonable or tempered debate to emerge over proper behavior or coverage.

— ben shapiro, National Review, "No One Emerges from Trump’s Feud with the Media Looking Good," 5 July 2017

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

dichotomy and false dichotomy

The two most commonly used senses of dichotomy are easily (and often) confused. The older one refers to the division of something into two groups that often are mutually exclusive or contradictory (as in “the dichotomy between good and evil”). Like trichotomy (meaning “division into three parts”), this sense denotes separation into different elements, but it adds the connotation of oppositeness. The newer sense of dichotomy denotes a thing that appears to have contradictory qualities, such as a lemonade stand found in a war zone. Dichotomy is frequently found in the company of the word false; a false dichotomy is a kind of fallacy in which one is given only two choices when in fact other options are available.