ternary

/tɜː.nər.i/ (bre, ipa) · /tɝː.nər.i/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈtər-nə-rē How to pronounce ternary (audio)/ (ame, mw)

ternary — adjective

  • ternarypositive
  • more ternarycomparative
  • most ternarysuperlative

1. made up of three distinct parts, elements, or stages that together form a comple

1.形容詞C1
釋義

made up of three distinct parts, elements, or stages that together form a complete unit or system

例句

The composer used ternary form for the slow movement, with two quick outer sections around a calm middle part.

ternary form — music structure with ABA pattern

Emre drew a ternary diagram to show how the three chemicals mixed at different temperatures.

同義詞
  • tripartite

    more formal; used especially in politics and law (tripartite agreement) rather than science or music

  • threefold

    focuses on multiplication by three rather than composition of three parts

  • three-part

    everyday equivalent; less technical than 'ternary'

反義詞
  • unitary

    consisting of one part instead of three

  • binary

    consisting of two parts instead of three

文法句型

ternary + noun

用法筆記

Frequently used as an attributive adjective (before a noun) in technical fields such as music, chemistry, computing, and materials science. Not used in everyday conversation.

常見錯誤

❌The music has a triple form.
✅The music has a ternary form.
💡'triple' means 'three times as much', not 'made of three parts.'

2. relating to a counting or logic system that uses three as its base, with digits

2.形容詞C2
釋義

relating to a counting or logic system that uses three as its base, with digits 0, 1, and 2 instead of the 0 and 1 used in binary

例句

In a ternary number system, the value written as 10 represents three in decimal counting.

ternary number system — base-3 place values

Ritu learned that early Soviet computers used ternary logic with three voltage levels, not two.

同義詞
  • base-3

    less formal; describes the same concept more transparently

  • trinary

    rare variant spelling with the same meaning in computing contexts

反義詞
  • binary

    using base 2; the standard in modern computing

  • decimal

    using base 10; more familiar counting system

文法句型

ternary + noun

用法筆記

Domain-specific. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 focuses specifically on number systems and logic based on 3, while sense 1 refers to any three-part structure regardless of numbering or computing context.