convergent

/kənˈvʌrdʒənt/

Other forms: convergently

If you're a Red Sox fan and your cousin loves the Yankees but you both agree baseball is a wonderful game, that's a convergent idea — in other words an idea that brings you together.

Convergent applies to anything that is arrived at from different paths, not just an idea. Two trains, for example, arriving at the same station from different directions are said to be convergent; or two species of animals inhabiting the same environment that grow more and more alike in habit are also said to be convergent. The opposite of convergent is divergent — as in a Red Sox fan and a Yankees fan arguing about which is the better team.

Definitions of convergent

1. adjective

   tending to come together from different directions
   synonyms:

   confluent, merging

   flowing together

   focused, focussed

   (of light rays) converging on a point

   oblique

   slanting or inclined in direction or course or position--neither parallel nor perpendicular nor right-angled

   antonyms:

   divergent

   tending to move apart in different directions

   branching

   resembling the branches of a tree

   radiating

   diverging from a common point

   oblique

   slanting or inclined in direction or course or position--neither parallel nor perpendicular nor right-angled