Meaning & use
fractal
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Meaning
nouncountabletechnicalmathematics
A geometric shape or pattern that repeats the same structure at smaller and smaller scales, often looking detailed and irregular.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an and plural -s. You can say 'a fractal', 'many fractals', 'the fractal's edge'.
Patterns
- a fractal pattern
- the geometry of fractals
- generate a fractal
The computer program generates a colorful fractal by repeating a simple rule thousands of times.
Snowflakes are often described as natural fractals because their branching shapes repeat at smaller scales.
In the art class, we used fractal patterns to create a poster that looked both chaotic and organized.
Word forms
| plural | fractals |
|---|
Common combinations
- fractal geometry
- Fractal geometry helps mathematicians describe coastlines and mountain ranges.
- fractal pattern
- The wallpaper had a fractal pattern that seemed to go on forever.
- fractal dimension
- The researcher calculated the fractal dimension of the river network.
- generate a fractal
- With just a few lines of code, you can generate a fractal on your screen.
Word family
- fractal adjective
- Used before a noun to describe something that has the repeating structure of a fractal, as in 'fractal art'.
- fractally adverb
- In a way that involves or resembles a fractal; a rare adverb used mostly in technical writing.
Commonly confused: fractal or fraction?
fractal vs fraction
A fraction is a number like 1/2 or 3/4 that shows part of a whole. A fractal is a shape or pattern that repeats at different scales. They sound similar but belong to different areas of math.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'fractal' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A fractal is a repeating geometric pattern, so 'a fractal shape that repeats at every scale' fits. The other options confuse 'fractal' with 'fraction' (a numerical part of a whole), which is a different word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fractal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.