two-dimensional
adjective
two-di·men·sion·al
ˈtü-də-ˈmen(t)-sh(ə-)nəl 
also -dī-
1
: of, relating to, or having two dimensions
The most symmetric of the two-dimensional objects is the circle, because you can rotate it any amount and reflect it over any axis through its center, and it remains exactly the same …—
Tamara M. Davis
Tamara M. Davis… consider a piece of paper, a two-dimensional object. Crumple the paper up. The more tightly it's compressed, the more chaotic are its folds, and the closer the two-dimensional surface moves to becoming a three-dimensional solid.—John Briggs and F. David Peat
John Briggs and F. David Peat2
: lacking the illusion of depth : not three-dimensional
His violent, nakedly two-dimensional art can be difficult to capture in photographs, depending as it does in great measure on knotty textures and eccentric color schemes for effect.—Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly3
: lacking depth of characterization
two-dimensional characters
two-dimensionally
adverb
This guide … covers thoroughly and in-depth the process of representing the human form two-dimensionally on paper.
—Heather Halliday
Heather Halliday
Examples of two-dimensional in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The multiplicity-one conjecture concerns closed two-dimensional surfaces, like spheres or doughnuts, that live in three-dimensional space.
—Quanta Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
Knox simply did not want to subscribe to the two-dimensional characterization of her prosecutor as so many had done to her.
—Rachel Brodsky, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2025
If the device properties are just right, this could give rise to a two-dimensional version of a global electronic state that can be knotted up.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Mar. 2025
Growing up during the pandemic, the story goes, this new generation experienced other humans as clusters of pixels safely confined to a two-dimensional plane.
—Lily Scherlis, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for two-dimensional
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Quanta Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
Knox simply did not want to subscribe to the two-dimensional characterization of her prosecutor as so many had done to her.
—Rachel Brodsky, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2025
If the device properties are just right, this could give rise to a two-dimensional version of a global electronic state that can be knotted up.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Mar. 2025
Growing up during the pandemic, the story goes, this new generation experienced other humans as clusters of pixels safely confined to a two-dimensional plane.
—Lily Scherlis, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for two-dimensional
Cite this Entry
“Two-dimensional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/two-dimensional. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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