isomorphism

noun

iso·​mor·​phism ˌī-sə-ˈmȯr-ˌfi-zəm 

1

: the quality or state of being isomorphic: such as

a

: similarity in organisms of different ancestry resulting from convergence

b

: similarity of crystalline form between chemical compounds

2

: a one-to-one correspondence between two mathematical sets

especially : a homomorphism that is one-to-one compare endomorphism

Examples of isomorphism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But despite this disparity in progress, the two problems have a deeper connection than the similarity of their names: The group isomorphism problem (at least in this formulation) reduces to the graph isomorphism problem. —Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 23 June 2023

That’s flipped today, in part because graph isomorphism has spurred exciting innovations while group isomorphism has stalled. —Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 23 June 2023

Imagining reversed historical situations is a worthwhile exercise to visualize isomorphism, the tendency of all human organizations to resemble their normative environment. —Enrique Dans, Forbes, 20 May 2021

This notion of isomorphism lies at the heart of this decades-old problem. —Quanta Magazine, 10 Aug. 2021

This term refers to the notion of isomorphism in the more exotic homotopy category of spaces. —Emily Riehl, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2021

The Friedman-Stanley paper, as well as the new work by Paolini and Shelah, focused on an equivalence relation — called isomorphism — between structures. —Quanta Magazine, 10 Aug. 2021

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

circa 1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

isomorphism

noun

iso·​mor·​phism ˌi-sə-ˈmȯr-ˌfiz-əm 

1

: similarity in organisms of different ancestry resulting from evolutionary convergence

2

: similarity of crystalline form between chemical compounds

3

: a correspondence that is held to exist between a mental process (as perception) and physiological processes