RANDOMNESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does randomness mean? 

• RANDOMNESS (noun)
  The noun RANDOMNESS has 2 senses:

1. (thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work

2. the quality of lacking any predictable order or plan

  Familiarity information: RANDOMNESS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RANDOMNESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

entropy; randomness; S

Context example:

entropy increases as matter and energy in the universe degrade to an ultimate state of inert uniformity

Hypernyms ("randomness" is a kind of...):

physical property (any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions)

Domain category:

thermodynamics (the branch of physics concerned with the conversion of different forms of energy)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "randomness"):

conformational entropy (entropy calculated from the probability that a state could be reached by chance alone)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The quality of lacking any predictable order or plan

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

haphazardness; noise; randomness; stochasticity

Hypernyms ("randomness" is a kind of...):

irregularity; unregularity (not characterized by a fixed principle or rate; at irregular intervals)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "randomness"):

ergodicity (an attribute of stochastic systems; generally, a system that tends in probability to a limiting form that is independent of the initial conditions)

Derivation:

random (lacking any definite plan or order or purpose; governed by or depending on chance)