perpendicular
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Intersecting at or forming right angles.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
perpuhndikyuhlerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
pɚpənˈdɪkjəlɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
geometry
Intersecting at or forming right angles
“The axes are perpendicular to each other.”
geometry
At or forming a right angle (to something).
Exactly upright; extending in a straight line toward the centre of the earth, etc.
Independent of or irrelevant to each other; orthogonal.
noun
A device such as a plumb line that is used in making or marking a perpendicular line.
geometry
A straight line at right angles to another line
geometry
A line or plane that is perpendicular to another.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Intersecting at or forming right angles
Used this way, perpendicular is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a mathematical use: it is defined precisely and belongs to working with figures and calculations rather than to ordinary conversation.
“The axes are perpendicular to each other.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Mathematics
- Geometry
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Natural pattern: perpendicular to …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use perpendicular
- “The axes are perpendicular to each other.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Of a geometric figure, incorporating a right angle between edges, faces, axes, etc.
Of two objects, at right angles.
At right angles to the plane of the horizon or a base line.
Having axes that meet each other with right angles.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A Gothic style in 14th and 15th century England.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.