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symmetrical - 5 dictionary results

sym⋅met⋅ri⋅cal

  [si-me-tri-kuhl]
Use symmetrical in a Sentence
–adjective
1. characterized by or exhibiting symmetry; well-proportioned, as a body or whole; regular in form or arrangement of corresponding parts.
2. Geometry.
a. noting two points in a plane such that the line segment joining the points is bisected by an axis: Points (1, 1) and (1, −1) are symmetrical with respect to the x-axis.
b. noting a set consisting of pairs of points having this relation with respect to the same axis.
c. noting two points in a plane such that the line segment joining the points is bisected by a point or center: The points (1, 1) and (−1, −1) are symmetrical with respect to (0, 0).
d. noting a set consisting of pairs of points having this relation with respect to the same center.
3. Often, symmetric. Mathematics.
a. noting a square matrix that is equal to its transpose.
b. noting a dyad or dyadic that is equal to its conjugate.
c. noting a relation in which one element in relation to a second implies the second in relation to the first.
4. Botany.
a. divisible into two similar parts by more than one plane passing through the center; actinomorphic.
b. (of a flower) having the same number of parts in each whorl.
5. Chemistry.
a. having a structure that exhibits a regular repeated pattern of the component parts.
b. noting a benzene derivative in which three substitutions have occurred at alternate carbon atoms.
6. affecting corresponding parts simultaneously, as certain diseases.
Also, sym⋅met⋅ric.

Origin:
1745–55; symmetr(y) + -ical

Related forms:
sym⋅met⋅ri⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
sym⋅met⋅ri⋅cal⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. balanced, orderly, regular, congruent.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To symmetrical
sym·met·ri·cal   (sĭ-mět'rĭ-kəl)   
adj.  Of or exhibiting symmetry.
sym·met'ri·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Symmetrical

Sym*met"ric*al\, a. [Cf. F. sym['e]trique. See Symmetry.]

1. Involving or exhibiting symmetry; proportional in parts; having its parts in due proportion as to dimensions; as, a symmetrical body or building.

2. (Biol.) Having the organs or parts of one side corresponding with those of the other; having the parts in two or more series of organs the same in number; exhibiting a symmetry. See Symmetry, 2.

3. (Bot.) (a) Having an equal number of parts in the successive circles of floral organs; -- said of flowers. (b) Having a likeness in the form and size of floral organs of the same kind; regular.

4. (Math.) Having a common measure; commensurable. (b) Having corresponding parts or relations.

Note: A curve or a plane figure is symmetrical with respect to a given line, and a line, surface, or solid with respect to a plane, when for each point on one side of the line or plane there is a corresponding point on the other side, so situated that the line joining the two corresponding points is perpendicular to the line or plane and is bisected by it. Two solids are symmetrical when they are so situated with respect to an intervening plane that the several points of their surfaces thus correspond to each other in position and distance. In analysis, an expression is symmetrical with respect to several letters when any two of them may change places without affecting the expression; as, the expression a^2b + ab^2 + a^2c + ac^2 + b^2c + bc^2, is symmetrical with respect to the letters a, b, c. -- Sym*met"ric*al*ly, adv. -- Sym*met"ric*al*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : symmetrical
Spanish: simétrico,
German: symmetrisch,
Japanese: 対称の
More Translations »

Main Entry: sym·met·ri·cal
Pronunciation: s&-'me-tri-k&l
Variant: or sym·met·ric /-trik/
Function:adjective
: having, involving, or exhibiting symmetry: as a : affecting corresponding parts simultaneously and similarly symmetrical rash> b : exhibiting symmetry in a structural formula; especially : being a derivative with groups substituted symmetrically in the molecule —sym·met·ri·cal·ly /-tri-k(&-)lE/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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symmetric (sĭ-mět'rĭk) or symmetrical   (sĭ-mět'rĭk)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. Relating to or exhibiting symmetry.
  2. Relating to a logical or mathematical relation between two elements such that if the first element is related to the second element, the second element is related in like manner to the first. The relation a = b is symmetric, whereas the relation a > b is not.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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