Meanings
plural meioses · alternative obsolete maiosis · alternative obsolete miosis
- countablerhetoricuncountableA figure of speech in which something is presented as smaller or less significant than it actually appears.
I knew, with one of those secret knowledges that can exist between two people, that her suicide was a direct result of my having told her of my own attempt – I had told it with a curt meiosis that was meant to conceal depths; and she had called my bluff one final time.
1965, John Fowles, The MagusSynonyms: understatement · Antonyms: hyperbole, overstatement, exaggeration, auxesis
- uncountableusuallybiologyCell division of a diploid cell into four haploid cells, which develop to produce gametes.
Synonyms: reduction division
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA figure of speech in which something is presented as smaller or less significant than it actually appears.
nounCell division of a diploid cell into four haploid cells, which develop to produce gametes.
More synonyms by meaning
noun(genetics) cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms; the nucleus divides into four nuclei each containing half the chromosome number (leading to gametes in animals and spores in plants)
noununderstatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekμείωσις“a lessening”
- Englishmeiosis
From Ancient Greek μείωσις (meíōsis, “a lessening”), from μειόω (meióō, “I lessen”), from μείων (meíōn, “less”). The biological sense was coined by British biologists John Bretland Farmer and John Edmund Sharrock Moore in 1905 as maiosis in a paper in the Quarterly Journal of Microscopic Science, with the spelling corrected on etymological grounds later that year. Doublet of miosis.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans meiose
- meiosecell division
Basque meiosi
- meiosicell division
Bengali মিয়োসিস
- মিয়োসিস (miẏōśiś)cell division
Catalan meiosi, miosi
- meiosicell division
- miosicell division
Chinese Cantonese 減數分裂 /减数分裂
- 減數分裂 /减数分裂cell division
Chinese Mandarin 減數分裂 /减数分裂
- 減數分裂 /减数分裂 (jiǎnshùfēnliè)cell division
Czech meióza
- meiózacell division
Dutch meiose
- meiosecell division
Esperanto mejozo
- mejozocell division
Finnish meioosi
- meioosicell division
French méiose
- méiosecell division
German Meiose
- Meiosecell division
Greek μείωση
- μείωση (meíosi)cell division
Hebrew מִיוֹזָה
- מִיוֹזָה (miyóza)cell division
Hindi अर्धसूत्रण, अर्धसूत्री विभाजन
- अर्धसूत्रण (ardhsūtraṇ)cell division
- अर्धसूत्री विभाजन (ardhsūtrī vibhājan)cell division
Hungarian meiózis
- meióziscell division
Icelandic rýriskipting, meiósa
- rýriskiptingcell division
- meiósacell division
Indonesian meiosis
- meiosiscell division
Japanese 減数分裂
- 減数分裂 (gensū bunretsu)cell division
Māori wehenga pūtau
- wehenga pūtaucell division
Persian میوز
- میوزcell division
Polish mejoza
- mejozacell division
Portuguese meiose, miose
- meiosecell division
- miosecell division
Russian мейо́з
- мейо́з (mejóz)cell division
Spanish meiosis
- meiosiscell division
Swedish meios
- meioscell division
Tamil ஒடுக்கற்பிரிவு
- ஒடுக்கற்பிரிவு (oṭukkaṟpirivu)cell division
Turkish mayoz, mayoz bölünme
- mayozcell division
- mayoz bölünmecell division
Vietnamese giảm phân
- giảm phâncell division
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with meiosis
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
meiosis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meiosis
“meiosis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meiosis. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “meiosis,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meiosis.
Source: meiosis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.