Heterogeneous

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Heterogeneous

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

adjective

Pronunciation

het-er-oh-JEE-nee-us  /ˌhɛtərə(ʊ)ˈdʒiːnɪəs/

Definition

Diverse in character or content; composed of elements of different kinds; not uniform or consistent throughout; made up of parts or members that are varied and dissimilar.

Plain meaning

Heterogeneous means made up of very different or varied parts — the opposite of homogeneous (all the same). A heterogeneous group contains people with very different backgrounds; a heterogeneous mixture contains different types of particles; a heterogeneous dataset contains varied data types.

Register

Formal and academic. Heterogeneous is primarily used in scientific, statistical, medical, and academic writing. In everyday speech, diverse or varied is typically preferred. The word's length and Greek roots give it a technical, learned quality.