There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't.
Source: tatoeba (1797)
Binary
/ˈbaɪ.nə.ɹɪ/
Synonyms for "binary" (100 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (20)
Strong matches (30)
Adjective(1 words)
black-and-white
Noun(10 words)
Adjective(12 words)
boolean logic puzzleboolean logicsdichotomous chartdichotomous itemdigitaldigital signaldigital tooldigital toolsdoubledouble stardouble-stardual
Related words (50)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: ambidextrous, base two system, base-2, base-2 system, base-two system.
- Sentence evidence is available for binary, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, derived_reverse, opengloss, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "binary".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "binary"
Keep "binary" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "binary" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "binary", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "binary" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
17 entriesastronomical objectastronomical systemcomputer filecomputer programcomputer programmedata filelogicmathematicsnumber systemnumeral systemprogramprogrammepropertyrelationshipstarstellar system
Showing 16 of 17 words.
More specific
13 entriesbinary codebinary digitbinary filebinary numeralbinary operatorbinary relationdual systemdyadic relationeclipsing binaryexecutable binaryobject filespectroscopic binarytwo-part structure
Collocations
9 entriesbinary codebinary databinary digitsbinary filebinary operatorbinary relationbinary searchbinary starbinary tree
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
8 entriessimilar
1 entriesTranslations
59 translations across 28 languages.
Belarusian
4 entries- біна́рны adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- біна́рны adj (logic states)
- двайко́вы adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- двайко́вы adj (logic states)
Bulgarian
2 entries- двои́чен adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- двои́чен adj (logic states)
Catalan
2 entries- binari adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- binari adj (logic states)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 二進 /二进 adj (logic states)
Danish
1 entries- binær adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
Dutch
2 entries- binair adj (logic states)
- binaire adj (logic states)
Esperanto
3 entries- bulea adj (logic states)
- duuma adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- duuma adj (logic states)
Finnish
2 entries- binäärinen adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- binäärinen adj (logic states)
French
2 entries- binaire adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- binaire adj (logic states)
Georgian
2 entries- ბინარული adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- ორობითი adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
German
2 entries- binär adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- binär adj (logic states)
Greek
2 entries- δυαδικός adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- δυαδικός adj (logic states)
Hungarian
2 entries- bináris adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- bináris adj (logic states)
Indonesian
2 entries- biner adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- biner adj (logic states)
Italian
1 entries- binario adj (logic states)
Kazakh
2 entries- бинарлық adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- екілік adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
Korean
3 entries- 이진 adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- 진리 adj (logic states)
- 참거짓 adj (logic states)
Māori
1 entries- tāhūrua adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- binær adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- binær adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
Polish
2 entries- binarny adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- binarny adj (logic states)
Portuguese
2 entries- binário adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- binário adj (logic states)
Romanian
2 entries- binar adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- binar adj (logic states)
Russian
4 entries- бина́рный adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- бина́рный adj (logic states)
- двои́чный adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- двои́чный adj (logic states)
Spanish
2 entries- binario adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- binario adj (logic states)
Swedish
1 entries- binär adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
Turkish
4 entries- iki terimli adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- iki terimli adj (logic states)
- ikilik adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- ikilik adj (logic states)
Ukrainian
4 entries- біна́рний adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- біна́рний adj (logic states)
- двійко́вий adj (being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off)
- двійко́вий adj (logic states)
Sample sentences
28 total sentences available.
The “Book of Changes” presents the oldest binary encoding.
Source: tatoeba (1518268)
It's a binary world; the computer might be his paradigm. And many engineers seem to aspire to be binary people within in.
Source: tatoeba (2736993)
There are 10 types of people in the world: those who can understand binary and those who can't.
Source: tatoeba (5147338)
Showing 4 of 28 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "binary"?
Closest matches include ambidextrous, base two system, base-2, base-2 system, base-two system.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "binary"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.