Asymmetric relation


In mathematics, an asymmetric relation is a binary relation on a set X where
This can be written in the notation of first-order logic as
A logically equivalent definition is An example of an asymmetric relation is the "less than" relation < between real numbers: if x < y, then necessarily y is not less than x. The "less than or equal" relation ≤, on the other hand, is not asymmetric, because reversing e.g. x ≤ x produces x ≤ x and both are true.
Asymmetry is not the same thing as "not symmetric": the less-than-or-equal relation is an example of a relation that is neither symmetric nor asymmetric. The empty relation is the only relation that is both symmetric and asymmetric.

Properties