heterogeneous

adjective

het·​ero·​ge·​neous ˌhe-tə-rə-ˈjē-nē-əs How to pronounce heterogeneous (audio)
ˌhe-trə-,
-nyəs
: consisting of dissimilar or diverse ingredients or constituents : mixed
an ethnically heterogeneous population
heterogeneously adverb
heterogeneousness noun

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 The No Sabo Kids movement underscores that the Latino population in the U.S. is increasingly heterogeneous with growing numbers of third- and fourth-generation Latinos who predominantly speak English, Rouse said. Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 18 Mar. 2024 But in a nation as heterogeneous as the U.S., the very idea of common knowledge is a false one. Sophia Stewart, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2024 Dell's suite holistically automates network infrastructure orchestration, critical as CSPs navigate the shift to cloud-native infrastructures, increasingly relying on a heterogeneous mix of software and hardware from multiple vendors. Steve McDowell, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 The fact that there are more conflicts and more complaints on today’s heterogeneous campuses does not mean that the more homogeneous campuses of the past were islands of tolerance. David Cole, The New York Review of Books, 15 Feb. 2024 For some people—perhaps even a majority with systemic lupus—a single drug may not be sufficient to address the heterogeneous nature of the condition, and a lot of work is now looking at how combinations of existing drugs may help patients with specific subtypes of SLE. Markham Heid, TIME, 27 Dec. 2023 The patients are heterogeneous, and research suggests even the fat in sickened livers can be made up of different lipid combinations depending on the person. Isabella Cueto, STAT, 28 Dec. 2023 Miocene apes evolved in more heterogeneous habitats including early grasslands. Ryan McRae, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Dec. 2023 The ability to manage uncertainties is made possible by heterogeneous people resources, concepts, methods and external linkages. Jonathan H. Westover, Ph.d, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heterogeneous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin heterogeneus, from Greek heterogenēs, from heter- + genos kind — more at kin

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of heterogeneous was in 1630

Dictionary Entries Near heterogeneous

Cite this Entry

“Heterogeneous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heterogeneous. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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
: not uniform in structure or composition
tumors which have a heterogeneous composition by reason of structure and presence of necrosisYear Book of Endocrinology
heterogeneously adverb

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