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Glite Dictionary
📐 Not straight-lined 🏴 Without control 📓 No lines
unruled

unruled

7.7
A surface not made by moving a straight line
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈruːld/
  • Specialized
translation icon : no rulada
  • In geometry, a sphere is a classic example of an unruled surface, as it cannot be described using straight lines.

Examples

  • The mathematician explained that a sphere is an example of an unruled surface.

  • Unlike cylinders, some complex shapes in geometry are classified as unruled.

  • The artist was fascinated by the beauty of unruled forms in modern sculpture.

  • This paper is unruled.

  • The unruled paper allows for more creativity.

  • Mathematicians often illustrate that some shapes, like the hyperboloid, are considered unruled in contrast to ruled surfaces.

  • The concept of unruled surfaces in geometry includes objects that cannot be generated by straight lines.

Surface Forms

unruled positive

Morphology

unruled = ruled (semi-transparent) = un + rule + ed

The negation 'un-' is clear, but the geometric sense of 'ruled' (a technical term for surfaces generated by a line) is specialized and may be unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Unruled is un- ('not') plus rule, which can mean a straight 'line' or guide, like a measuring ruler. In geometry an unruled surface is one that is not made by moving a straight line, so it means 'not made of straight lines'.