heterogeneous

adjective

het·​ero·​ge·​neous ˌhe-tə-rə-ˈjēn-yəs 

ˌhe-trə-,

-ˈjē-nē-əs

: consisting of dissimilar or diverse ingredients or constituents : mixed

an ethnically heterogeneous population

heterogeneously adverb

heterogeneousness noun

Synonyms

• eclectic
• varied
• mixed
• diverse
• assorted

Examples of heterogeneous in a Sentence

the seating in the hall was a heterogeneous collection of old school desk chairs, wood and metal folding chairs, and even a few plush theater seats

Recent Examples on the Web

Another thing is that the robots in Lai’s experiments were identical, while in a real-world work cell, robotic teams are quite often heterogeneous. —Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 25 Sep. 2025

The electrolyzer’s design addresses fouling, current distribution, and thermal management, which are common failure points for electrochemical systems receiving heterogeneous feedstocks. —Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 23 Sep. 2025

Semiconductor vendors are increasingly turning to advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration as performance scaling strategies. —Dave Altavilla, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Ray Wang, research director for semiconductors, supply chain and emerging technology at Futurum Group, pointed out that the AI industry is not heterogeneous. —Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin heterogeneus (borrowed from Greek heterogenḗs "of different kinds," from hetero- hetero- + -genēs, adjective derivative of génos "ancestry, race, class, kind") + -ous — more at kin entry 1

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for heterogeneous

• arsenious
• ingenious
• genius

Kids Definition

heterogeneous

adjective

het·​er·​o·​ge·​neous

ˌhet-ə-rə-ˈjē-nē-əs,

-nyəs

: differing in kind : consisting of dissimilar parts : mixed

a heterogeneous population

heterogeneously adverb

heterogeneousness noun

Medical Definition

heterogeneous

adjective

het·​ero·​ge·​neous ˌhet-ə-rə-ˈjē-nē-əs, ˌhe-trə-, -nyəs 

: not uniform in structure or composition

tumors which have a heterogeneous composition by reason of structure and presence of necrosis

—Year Book of Endocrinology

heterogeneously adverb