anticorrelation

noun

an·​ti·​cor·​re·​la·​tion ¦an-ˌtī-ˌkȯr-ə-¦lā-shən How to pronounce anticorrelation (audio)
-ˌkär-,
¦an-tē-
plural anticorrelations
: an inverse correlation
In 1801, the Astronomer Royal, William Herschel, effectively launched the field of solar variability influences on weather by noticing an anticorrelation between the price of wheat and the number of visible sunspots.K. S. Carslaw et al., Science, 29 Nov. 2002
anticorrelate
¦an-ˌtī-¦kȯr-ə-ˌlāt How to pronounce anticorrelation (audio)
-¦kär-
¦an-tē-
verb, transitive + intransitive
anticorrelated; anticorrelating; anticorrelates
Many-sided cells are expected to be larger than fewer-sided cells, both based on experimental observation and based on statistical inference. … By anticorrelating the many-sided and the few-sided cells, the tissue reduces the frequency at which multiple large cells are crowded together, or at which multiple small cells are stretched to remain neighbors. William T. Gibson and Matthew C. Gibson, in Tissue Remodeling and Epithelial Morphogenesis, 2009
… we note the pronounced tendency of observed remote tropical precipitation anomalies to anticorrelate with the equatorial Pacific anomalies. Benjamin R Lintner and John C H Chiang, Journal of Dairy Science, 15 Dec. 2005

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of anticorrelation was in 1916

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Cite this Entry

“Anticorrelation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anticorrelation. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

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