Meaning & use
symmetry
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The quality of having two halves that match each other in shape and size when divided down a line or through a point.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun: 'the symmetry of the design'; you can say 'a symmetry' only when talking about one particular type among several.
Patterns
- the symmetry of something
- symmetry between two things
- perfect symmetry
The butterfly's wings show perfect symmetry.
The building was praised for the symmetry of its two towers.
There is a pleasing symmetry between the opening and closing scenes of the film.
noununcountablefigurative
A balanced or pleasing arrangement in which parts correspond to each other in size, position, or meaning.
Grammar: Often used figuratively about ideas, stories, or events rather than physical shapes.
Patterns
- a sense of symmetry
- the symmetry of the plot
The novel's ending gives a strange symmetry to the whole story.
Critics admired the symmetry of the argument, with each point balanced by a counterpoint.
noununcountabletechnicalmathematicsbiology
In mathematics and biology, the property of a shape or body that stays the same when reflected or rotated.
Grammar: Technical use; often appears in phrases like 'rotational symmetry' or 'bilateral symmetry'.
Patterns
- rotational symmetry
- bilateral symmetry
- an axis of symmetry
A square has four axes of symmetry.
Most animals with a backbone show bilateral symmetry.
The students learned to identify rotational symmetry in snowflakes.
Word forms
| plural | symmetries |
|---|
Common combinations
- perfect symmetry
- The garden was laid out with perfect symmetry.
- axis of symmetry
- Draw the axis of symmetry through the center of the shape.
- bilateral symmetry
- Humans and many other animals have bilateral symmetry.
- break the symmetry
- A single mistake broke the symmetry of the pattern.
- symmetry between
- There is a clear symmetry between the two halves of the poem.
Synonyms and how they differ
- balance
- Balance is wider and can mean equal weight or steadiness, while symmetry specifically means matching shapes on opposite sides.
- proportion
- Proportion refers to the relationship between sizes, not necessarily to mirror-image matching.
- regularity
- Regularity means a repeated pattern, but it does not require the two sides to mirror each other.
Opposites
Word family
- symmetrical adjective
- Having matching parts on both sides of a line or point.
- symmetrically adverb
- In a way that shows matching parts on both sides.
- asymmetry noun
- The state of not having matching parts on both sides.
- asymmetrical adjective
- Not having matching parts on both sides.
Commonly confused: symmetry or sympathy? symmetry or cemetery?
symmetry vs sympathy
Sympathy means feeling sorry for someone; symmetry is about matching shapes or balanced parts.
symmetry vs cemetery
Cemetery is a burial ground; it sounds a little like symmetry but has a completely different meaning.
Practice
The design of the new bridge is admired for its ______: both sides look exactly the same.
Choose one answer.
Symmetry means matching parts on both sides, which fits the idea of both sides looking the same. Sympathy means feeling sorry for someone and does not fit the context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “symmetry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.