Word
polyphasic
Phoneticspolypha·sic
Definition
adj. having many separate stages or parts; often used to describe systems or processes that happen in multiple phases.
adj. pertaining to or characterized by the presence of multiple distinct phases or stages. Common in technical and scientific terminology.
Examples
“The machine has a polyphasic operation cycle with several distinct steps.”
“The study examined polyphasic sleep patterns in a group of night shift workers.”
“The polyphasic nature of the disease's progression complicates treatment, as symptoms emerge in distinct yet overlapping phases.”
Examples
simple
“The machine has a polyphasic operation cycle with several distinct steps.”
contextual
“The study examined polyphasic sleep patterns in a group of night shift workers.”
complex
“The polyphasic nature of the disease's progression complicates treatment, as symptoms emerge in distinct yet overlapping phases.”
Etymology
From Greek poly- 'many' + phasic 'phase', forming a compound in the 19th century to describe a sleep pattern involving multiple phases.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/polyphasic