asymmetric

/ˌeɪsəˈmɛtrɪk/

You describe something as asymmetric when it lacks the mirror-image quality of symmetry. That dress your sister sewed for you may appear stylishly asymmetric, but really the reason the sleeves are different lengths is because she doesn’t know how to use a tape measure.

The a- prefix comes from Latin and makes a word into its opposite, so asymmetric is the opposite of symmetric. Asymmetric often describes an intentional part of a design, like a shirt with an asymmetric neckline. But it can also describe something that is the result of a mistake, injustice, or deformity, like asymmetric growth in a body, which may be a sign of disease.

Definitions of asymmetric

1. adjective

   characterized by asymmetry in the spatial arrangement or placement of parts or components
   synonyms: asymmetrical

   irregular

   contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice

   lopsided

   having one side lower or smaller or lighter than the other

   noninterchangeable

   such that the terms of an expression cannot be interchanged without changing the meaning

   unsymmetric, unsymmetrical

   lacking symmetry