convexity

/kənˈvɛksɪti/

Other forms: convexities

The quality of something being round or curved in shape is its convexity. You could describe the convexity of a round, squat vase.

The noun convexity is somewhat technical for everyday use — you're more likely to see it in a math textbook than to hear a friend use it to talk about a goldfish bowl. Still, it is a perfectly good way to describe anything that curves or bulges outward, whether it's the belly of a Chinese Buddha or a balloon. Convexity comes from the adjective convex, with its Latin root word convexus, "vaulted or arched."

Definitions of convexity

1. noun

   the property possessed by a convex shape
   synonyms: convexness

   types:

   bulginess, roundedness

   the property possessed by a rounded convexity

   ellipticity, oblateness

   the property possessed by a round shape that is flattened at the poles

   type of:

   configuration, conformation, contour, form, shape

   any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
2. noun

   a shape that curves or bulges outward
   synonyms: convex shape

   types:

   umbo

   a slight rounded elevation where the malleus attaches to the eardrum

   camber

   a slight convexity (as of the surface of a road)

   entasis

   a slight convexity in the shaft of a column; compensates for the illusion of concavity that viewers experience when the sides are perfectly straight

   knob, node, thickening

   any thickened enlargement

   ridge

   any long raised strip

   peak, point, tip

   a V shape

   taper

   a convex shape that narrows toward a point

   projection

   any solid convex shape that juts out from something

   widow's peak

   a V-shaped point in the hairline in the middle of the forehead

   raphe, rhaphe

   a ridge that forms a seam between two parts

   cusp

   small elevation on the grinding surface of a tooth

   salient

   (military) the part of the line of battle that projects closest to the enemy

   jag

   a sharp projection on an edge or surface

   bulge, bump, excrescence, extrusion, gibbosity, gibbousness, hump, jut, prominence, protrusion, protuberance, swelling

   something that bulges out or is protuberant or projects from its surroundings

   corrugation

   a ridge on a corrugated surface

   acantha, spine, spur

   any sharply pointed projection

   tail, tail end

   any projection that resembles the tail of an animal

   knife, tongue

   any long thin projection that is transient

   keel

   a projection or ridge that suggests a keel

   head

   the tip of an abscess (where the pus accumulates)

   type of:

   solid

   a three-dimensional shape