curvatures

Degrees of bending

Curvatures is the plural of curvature—the degree to which something bends or curves away from being straight or flat.

The word appears in technical contexts: the curvature of the spine, the curvature of a lens, the curvature of spacetime in physics.

Different curvatures produce different optical or structural properties: The surgeon measured the curvatures of both corneas before the procedure.

bending

flex

Tense a muscle

  • bendCurve or flex
  • bowRespectful forward inclination
  • warpBend from true form

deflection · camber · sag · buckle · deformation · distortion · crook · kink · curl · twist

geometric

arc

Curved line segment

  • radiusCenter-to-perimeter distance
  • tangentLine touching curve once
  • chordNotes sounded simultaneously

circumference · parabola · ellipse · hyperbola · angle · axis · trajectory · orbit · spiral · helix

anatomical

spine

Column of vertebrae

lordosis · lumbar · thoracic · cervical · vertebral · corneal · lens · posture · skeletal · backbone

contour

profile

Side-facing outline

shape · topography · relief · undulation · sweep · lineament · terrain · surface · morphology · sinuosity

architectural

arch

Curved spanning structure

  • vaultSecure storage chamber
  • domeRounded vault forming roof
  • apseVaulted church recess

groin · barrel · catenary · buttress · arcade · cupola · rotunda · vaulting · archway · corbel

Opposites
geometric form

curvaturesstraightness

Absence of curvature

linearity · straight lines · flatness · planarity · directness

surface topology

curvaturesflatness

Absence of slope

planarity · levelness · planes · evenness · smoothness

Phrases
Family

curvature

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