Polarization Meaning
/ˌpoʊlərɪˈzeɪʃən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe production or the condition of polarity.
nounThe production or the condition of polarity., The grouping of opinions into two extremes.
Sentence Examples
Polarization of the public is a major issue in modern politics.
The scientist studied the polarization effect in the lab.
The filter reduced glare through the polarization of light.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The increasing divide in political views caused the ____ of the entire community.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The political ____ in the country deepened as both sides refused to engage in meaningful dialogue.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French polarisation. By surface analysis, polarize + -ation or polar + -ization.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The subtopologies that we discovered include: a glide-symmetric analog of the quantum spin Hall effect, an hourglass-flow topology (exemplified by our recently-proposed KHgSb material class), and quantized non-Abelian polarizations."
— 2016, A. Alexandradinata, Zhijun Wang, B. Andrei Bernevig, “Topological Insulators from Group Cohomology”, in arXiv:
"What frazzled pollsters, surly op-ed pages, snarling cable talkfests and issue-starved candidates for office need is a fresh source of hot-eyed national polarization."
— 2004 June 2, William Safire, “Abolish the Penny”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2020:
"The polarization of wealth and the polarization of attitudes to diversity are not unrelated. A key reason for popular hostility to immigrants is that to many people, particularly within working-class communities, immigration has become a symbol of unacceptable change."
— 2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 10 Oct 2021, retrieved 28 Sep 2013:
"Polarization is tearing at the seams of democracies around the world, from Brazil and India to Poland and Turkey."
— 2019 October 1, Thomas Carothers, Andrew O’Donohue, “How to Understand the Global Spread of Political Polarization”, in Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, archived from the original on 14 Feb 2023:
"We don’t usually notice polarization because direct sunlight and light from ordinary incandescent and fluorescent bulbs is unpolarized: it contains equal mixtures of horizontally and vertically polarized light."
— 2013 July 16, skullsinthestars, “Simple fun with polarizers!”, in Skulls in the Stars, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2022:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The increasing divide in political views caused the ____ of the entire community.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The political ____ in the country deepened as both sides refused to engage in meaningful dialogue.