📈 Not flat (math) 🏠 Not flat shape

nonplanar

8.0

You cannot draw it on a flat surface without lines crossing

adjective
/nɒnˈpleɪnər/

Specialized

: no planar

So this is the simplest diagram and there's a lot of nonplanar diagram which you can draw on the torus, OK, which is nonplanar version of this, et cetera.

Examples

To illustrate complex mathematical concepts, we often use nonplanar diagrams that cannot be represented on a flat surface.
The nonplanar structure of the molecular model made it challenging to visualize using traditional drawings.
In geometry, a cube is a nonplanar shape because its surfaces cannot all lie flat on a single plane.

Antonyms

planar

Specialized

1 8.2

Relating to or lying on a flat surface that goes in two directions

Surface Forms

nonplanar positive

Morphology

nonplanar = planar (semi-transparent) = non + planar

Morphologically clear as 'non-' + 'planar', but the graph-theoretic sense (about drawable graphs without crossings) is domain-specific and may not be obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Nonplanar is made from non- meaning 'not' and planar, from plane meaning 'flat surface'. In math it paints a picture of a drawing you cannot put on a flat sheet without lines or edges crossing, so a nonplanar graph is 'not flat' for drawings.