polarization.

1. The orientation pattern of oscillations in a transverse wave, especially light.

2. Separation or alignment of electric charge within a material.

3. Increasing separation of people or opinions into sharply opposed groups.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• linear polarization
• circular polarization

On the page

The filter selected one polarization of the light.

The signal’s polarization changed through the medium.

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.