multivalent

1. 1.

   used of the association of three or more homologous chromosomes during the first division of meiosis

   Antonymsunivalentbivalent

   genetics

2. 2.

   having more than one valence, or having a valence of 3 or higher

   Synonymspolyvalent

   chemistry

3. 3.

   having many values, meanings, or appeals

   “subtle, multivalent allegory”

   Synonymsmulti-valued

   Similarambiguous

Questions about multivalent

What does multivalent mean?

multivalent means "used of the association of three or more homologous chromosomes during the first division of meiosis". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in multivalent?

multivalent has 4 syllables: mul-ti-va-lent. The stress falls on "ti".

What is another word for multivalent?

Close synonyms include polyvalent, multi-valued. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of multivalent?

The recorded antonyms are univalent, bivalent.

Is multivalent a common word?

multivalent is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.