For example, anisotropic radiation has different intensities in different directions, and an anisotropic field exerts different actions depending on how the test particle is oriented.

This term is also used in the field of computer graphics. For example, an anisotropic surface will change in appearence as it is rotated about it's normal, as is the case with velvet. Anisotropic scaling occurs when something is scaled by different ammounts in different directions, for example, stretching a 64×64-pixel texture to cover a 12×34-pixel rectangle.

Wood is an anisotropic material. Its strenght, and expansion due to humidity, are different in the longitudinal, radial, and tangential directions.