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

These will target critical use cases where electrical, mechanical, and thermal challenges intersect, like heterogeneous integration, power-aware verification, and real-time system-level analysis for mission-critical applications. —Marco Chiappetta, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025

Extensive studies of various lunar samples derived from the melting of lunar mantle have shown a heterogeneous distribution of water in the lunar interior with abundances ranging from about 1 μg g−1 to 200 μg g−1 (refs. 9,15,16,17,18,19). —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 16 July 2025

As for scale-out alternatives, the industry is standardizing a high-bandwidth open networking protocol called Ultra Ethernet tailored for AI workloads across as many as 1 million heterogeneous nodes. —Karl Freund, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025

At the heart of its culture pulses a standard of duality—heterogeneous players coexisting in harmony— […] Power sparks in the nodes which link diverse components. —Waiyee Loh, JSTOR Daily, 2 July 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