symmetric
adjective
Simple meaning
Such that xRy if and only if yRx for all members x and y of S.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
suhmehtrikSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
səˈmɛtɹɪk
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
set theory
Of a relation R on a set S, such that xRy if and only if yRx for all members x and y of S (that is, if the relation holds between any element and a second, it also holds between the second and the first).
cryptography
Using the same key (or keys that are trivially related) for both encryption and decryption.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (set theory) Of a relation R on a set S, such that xRy if and only if yRx for all members x and y of S (that is, if the relation holds between any element and a second, it also holds between the second and the first).
Used this way, symmetric 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.
- 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.
Nearby words
- radially symmetrical , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use symmetric
- “The design was perfectly symmetric, with both sides mirroring each other.”adjective
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: of a relation R on a set S
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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.