asymmetry

noun

asym·​me·​try (ˌ)ā-ˈsi-mə-trē 

plural asymmetries

: lack or absence of symmetry

As Mercury orbits the Sun, it experiences a small torque due to its slight asymmetry in the plane of its orbit …

—Johanna Miller

French rococo was a part of this mood, which tended to favor pastel colors, asymmetry, a calculated disorder, a dreamy sensuality.

—Jonathan D. Spence

"Handedness"—whether we are left- or right-handed—is a convenient indicator of the development of the brain asymmetries that are thought to be required for language.

—Tim Flannery

Examples of asymmetry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The authors suggest that asymmetry may originate with the initial explosion. —Ars Technica, 30 Dec. 2024

Nonetheless, this asymmetry appears to be a good thing. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 25 Dec. 2024

Thus asymmetry became a tool to express harmony, where, for example, a single sleeve re-proportioned the whole silhouette. —Alberto Calabrese, Vogue, 4 Mar. 2025

Read More: Exoplanet Winds Expose a World Out of Science Fiction JWST and Reflective Clouds Through the JWST, Coulombe and the research team noticed an asymmetry in LTT 9779 b’s dayside reflectivity. —Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for asymmetry

• altimetry
• dosimetry
• calorimetry
• colorimetry
• supersymmetry
• symmetry

Medical Definition

asymmetry

noun

asym·​me·​try (ˈ)ā-ˈsim-ə-trē 

plural asymmetries

1

: lack or absence of symmetry: as

a

: lack of proportion between the parts of a thing

especially : want of bilateral symmetry

asymmetry in the development of the two sides of the brain

b

: lack of coordination of two parts acting in connection with one another

asymmetry of convergence of the eyes

2

: lack of symmetry in spatial arrangement of atoms and groups in a molecule