Asymmetrize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To render something uneven in form or arrangement so that its two halves or sides no longer match each other
2. To alter a balanced shape or structure so that it loses its mirror-image correspondence across a dividing line
3. To cause an object, pattern or arrangement to become lopsided, with no matching proportions on opposite sides

Etymology: "Asymmetrize" is built from "asymmetry" plus the verb-forming suffix "-ize," which English uses to turn nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make or cause to be something." "Asymmetry" itself comes from Greek "asymmetria," formed from "a-," meaning "not," and "symmetria," meaning "commensurateness" or "proportion," which in turn combines "syn-" ("together") with "metron" ("measure"). So the word's core idea is literally "not measured together," or lacking matching proportions. The verb "asymmetrize" is a straightforward derivation of this noun, following the same pattern as words like "macadamize" or "standardize." It describes the act of making something unbalanced or lacking mirror-like correspondence between its parts. Because it is a derived technical-style coinage rather than an old inherited term, its meaning is transparent once the parts are known.

Antonyms: symmetrize