symmetrical: Meaning and Definition of

sym•met•ri•cal

Pronunciation: (si-me'tri-kul), [key]
— adj.
  1. characterized by or exhibiting symmetry; well-proportioned, as a body or whole; regular in form or arrangement of corresponding parts.
  2. Points
    1. 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.
    2. noting a set consisting of pairs of points having this relation with respect to the same axis.
    3. 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).
    4. noting a set consisting of pairs of points having this relation with respect to the same center.
  3. Often,
    1. noting a square matrix that is equal to its transpose.
    2. noting a dyad or dyadic that is equal to its conjugate.
    3. noting a relation in which one element in relation to a second implies the second in relation to the first.
    1. divisible into two similar parts by more than one plane passing through the center; actinomorphic.
    2. (of a flower) having the same number of parts in each whorl.
    1. having a structure that exhibits a regular repeated pattern of the component parts.
    2. noting a benzene derivative in which three substitutions have occurred at alternate carbon atoms.
  4. affecting corresponding parts simultaneously, as certain diseases.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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