divergence
divergence Lexical Profile
divergence Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The process or state of separating and moving in different directions from a common point, or a significant difference in opinions, interests, or standards.
"There is a growing divergence between the economic policies of the two neighboring nations."
In evolutionary biology, the process by which interbreeding species or populations evolve differing traits and split into distinct lineages over time.
"Fossil records and genetic analysis helped researchers estimate the timing of the evolutionary divergence between the two primate species."
In vector calculus and physics, a differential operator that measures the magnitude of a vector field's source or sink at a given point, or the net outward flux per unit volume.
"According to Gauss's law, the divergence of the electric field is directly proportional to the local density of electric charge."
• Rhymes for divergence
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-17th century from Medieval Latin divergentia, derived from Latin divergere ('to go in different directions'), combining dis- ('apart') and vergere ('to bend or incline').