nonorientable

N1O1N1O1R1I1E1N1T1A1B3L1E1

adjective

Not able to be oriented.

“The Möbius strip is a nonorientable surface.”

Opposite
orientable
OriginEnglish orientable ← Middle English non- ← Old English nān- →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

adjectivenonorientable (not comparable)
  1. not comparablemathematicsNot able to be oriented.

    The Möbius strip is a nonorientable surface.

    1 more example

    Through every point of a nonorientable surface there passes a Möbius-like nonorientable strip (with an odd number of half-twists) which is part of that surface.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
orientable

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Germanic*ne
  3. Proto-Indo-European*ís?
  4. Proto-Indo-European*h₁óynos
  5. Proto-Germanic*ainaz
  6. Proto-Germanic*nainaz
  7. Proto-West Germanic*nain
  8. Old Englishnān
  9. Middle Englishnon
  10. Old Englishnān
  11. Old Englishnān-
  12. Middle Englishnon-
  13. Englishnon-
  14. Englishorient
  15. Englishorientable
  16. Englishnonorientable

From non- + orientable.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nonorientable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonorientable

MLA

“nonorientable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonorientable. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nonorientable,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonorientable.

Source: nonorientable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.