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plural asymptotes
(mathematical analysis) A straight line which a curve approaches arbitrarily closely as it goes to infinity. The limit of the curve; its tangent "at infinity". examples
(by extension, figuratively) Anything which comes near to but never meets something else. quotations examples
Language, in relation to thought, must ever be regarded as an asymptote.
1860, Frederic William Farrar, An Essay on the Origin of Language, page 117
third-person singular simple present asymptotes, present participle asymptoting, simple past and past participle asymptoted
(mathematical analysis) To approach, but never quite touch, a straight line, as something goes to infinity. quotations examples
As you become more scientific, yes, the religiosity drops off, but it asymptotes.
2006: Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Perimeter of Ignorance