Meanings
- uncountableA form of polymorphism in which adjacent sheets of a crystal are inclined to one another.
- uncountableAttention focus on a variety of things during one timespan.
A surplus of free time, physical isolation, and the threat of a deadline may spur monotropic behavior, even in those who consider themselves oriented toward polytropism.
2023 March 30, Emily Stones, “Cross-Neurotype Communication Competence”, in The Palgrave Handbook of Disability and Communication, Palgrave Macmillan Cham, →DOI, →ISBN1 more example
Murray et al. propose that the degree or breadth of attention allocation in humans is “normally distributed” and (largely) “genetically determined” (Murray et al., 2005, p. 140), with some people possessing a greater tendency toward multiply focused attention (polytropism), and others a tendency toward more narrowly focused attention (monotropism).
2021 April 29, Gemma L. Williams, Tim Wharton, Caroline Jagoe, “Mutual (Mis)understanding: Reframing Autistic Pragmatic “Impairments” Using Relevance Theory”, in Frontiers in Psychology, number 12, →DOI, page 616664Antonyms: monotropism
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAttention focus on a variety of things during one timespan.
Origin
Cite this entry
polytropism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polytropism
“polytropism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polytropism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polytropism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polytropism.
Source: polytropism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.