Standard Lemma guide

duality

noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /d(j)uːˈælɪti/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ælɪti
  • CMU ARPABET: D UW0 AE1 L AH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The quality of containing or comprising two often opposed parts or aspects.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • the moral duality of certain characters
  • Mother Nature's eternal duality, both life-giving and destructive
  • He was fascinated by the duality of human nature.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The aggregate of two complementary subclasses or parts.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • philosophical duality
  • The novel explored the duality of good and evil.
  • that fundamental duality that characterises the life of all animals—hungry or sated

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The mathematical equivalence of two seemingly different theoretical descriptions of a physical system.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics, sciences

Examples

  • wave-particle duality

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The interchangeability of points and planes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Qualifier: projective geometry

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

(geometry) the interchangeability of the roles of points and planes in the theorems of projective geometry

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: exchangeability, interchangeability, interchangeableness, fungibility

6

noun

Meaning 6

(physics) the property of matter and electromagnetic radiation that is characterized by the fact that some properties can be explained best by wave theory and others by particle theory

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: wave-particle duality

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: property

7

noun

Meaning 7

being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the dichotomy between eastern and western culture

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dichotomy

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: classification, categorization, categorisation

History

Etymology

From Latin duālitās. Equivalent to dual + -ity.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: kaksijakoisuus — classification into two subclasses or opposed parts
  • Finnish: kaksinaisuus — classification into two subclasses or opposed parts
  • French: dualité — classification into two subclasses or opposed parts
  • Occitan: dualitat — classification into two subclasses or opposed parts
  • Persian: زوجیت — classification into two subclasses or opposed parts
  • Polish: dwoistość — classification into two subclasses or opposed parts
  • Polish: dualizm — classification into two subclasses or opposed parts
  • Portuguese: dualidade — classification into two subclasses or opposed parts
  • Scottish Gaelic: dà-fhillteachd — classification into two subclasses or opposed parts
  • French: dualité — interchangeability of points and planes
  • German: Dualität — interchangeability of points and planes
  • Portuguese: dualidade — interchangeability of points and planes
  • Bulgarian: дуализъм (dualizǎm) — mathematical equivalence of two seemingly different theoretical descriptions of a physical system
  • Finnish: duaalisuus — mathematical equivalence of two seemingly different theoretical descriptions of a physical system
  • French: dualité — mathematical equivalence of two seemingly different theoretical descriptions of a physical system
  • Persian: زوجیت — mathematical equivalence of two seemingly different theoretical descriptions of a physical system
  • Polish: dualność — mathematical equivalence of two seemingly different theoretical descriptions of a physical system
  • Portuguese: dualidade — mathematical equivalence of two seemingly different theoretical descriptions of a physical system