dichotomy
nounUK /daɪˈkɒtəmi/
US /daɪˈkɑːtəmi/
A split between two things that are very different.
There is a clear dichotomy between what he says and what he does.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A division into two sharply contrasting groups or sets of opinions or beliefs.
The debate revealed a dichotomy between the two political camps.
3. In botany, a pattern of branching in which a stem or axis divides into two equal parts.
The plant's growth shows a regular dichotomy at each node.
4. In astronomy, the phase of the moon or a planet when exactly half of its disk is illuminated.
Astronomers observed the moon at dichotomy, with half its face lit.