homogeneous

adjective ho·mo·ge·neous \ ˌhō-mə-ˈjē-nē-əs , -ˈjēn-yəs \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of homogeneous

1 : of the same or a similar kind or nature

2 : of uniform structure or composition throughout

a culturally homogeneous neighborhood

3 : having the property that if each variable is replaced by a constant times that variable the constant can be factored out : having each term of the same degree if all variables are considered

a homogeneous equation

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homogeneously

adverb

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homogeneousness

noun

See homogeneous defined for English-language learners

See homogeneous defined for kids

Examples of homogeneous in a Sentence

In their natural state, mountains of this type are almost entirely covered by dense forest. The wooded landscape is very uniform, lacking in contrast, and any disturbance of the homogeneous green blanket is very obvious … —John Crowley, Focus on Geography, Winter 2007
One odd side effect is that, during the last 20 years, the formerly homogeneous, rather stodgy world of academic criticism has diversified into an incoherent mob of competing factions. —Walter Kendrick, New York Times Book Review, 24 Dec. 1995
The Benedictine convents for women, which had begun to be founded soon after Benedict's day, became particularly homogeneous in their social composition. The nuns of the ninth and tenth centuries were all high-born ladies, and it was almost impossible to be admitted to these convents without being a widowed or maiden relative of an important lord. —Norman F. Cantor, The Civilization of the Middle Ages, 1993
a fairly homogeneous collection of examples

Recent Examples of homogeneous from the Web

This has confirmed once-homogeneous Germany’s transformation into a melting-pot.

— The Economist, "Germany is becoming more open and diverse," 14 Apr. 2018
In an article at Army Technology, Army and university scientists claim that CMF weighs three times less than traditional rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) steel plate used in tanks and armored vehicles.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The United States' Next Tank Could Be Protected by 'Steel Foam'," 28 Mar. 2018
The workshop will help determine where these staff members are in terms of their thinking on diversity and inclusion, Barreto said, and a goal will be to get them to see diversity in their homogeneous group.

— mike danahey, Elgin Courier-News, "Elgin to build on its framework of diversity and inclusion," 22 Mar. 2018
Indeed, journalists in the homogeneous newsrooms of the era were not ready even to report on black communities with much depth.

— paul delaney, USA TODAY, "Kerner report at 50: Media diversity still decades behind," 20 Mar. 2018
Many academics still view Korea as an ethnically homogeneous nation.

— aram hur, Washington Post, "The next ‘Korea problem’ may be about the growing identity divide on the peninsula," 21 Feb. 2018
Housing discrimination relegated African Americans to homogeneous, poor black communities with underfunded, segregated schools.

— michael harriot, The Root, "Doug Jones and the Democratic Party Just Screwed Black Voters ... Again," 15 Mar. 2018
At one time, the entire atom was thought to be tiny, solid and homogeneous.

— martin weil, Washington Post, "Richard Taylor, Nobel-winning physicist who helped discover quarks, dies at 88," 24 Feb. 2018
The group appears to be a pretty homogeneous bunch.

— joseph gerth, The Courier-Journal, "Something doesn’t feel right about David Jones’ group of Louisville powerbrokers | Joe Gerth," 2 Feb. 2018

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

Did You Know?

The scientific theories of Jules Verne's bold French adventurer, Michel Ardan, might have been a bit flawed (it's more accurate to classify the solar system as "heterogenous" - that is, consisting of dissimilar ingredients or constituents), but his use of the English word homogeneous was perfectly correct. Homogeneous, which derives from the Greek roots homos, meaning "same," and genos, meaning "kind," has been used in English since the mid-1600s. The similar word homogenous (originally created for the science of genetics and used with the meaning "of, relating to, or derived from another individual of the same species") can also be a synonym of homogeneous. The words need not be used exclusively in scientific contexts - one can speak of, for example, "a homogenous/homogeneous community."