ternary vs three

ternary and three both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
ternary	Yes	Yes	No	No
three	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, ternary and three are synonyms defined as:

ternary and three: the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

Other synonyms of ternary include 3, deuce-ace, III, leash, tercet, ternion, terzetto, threesome, tierce, trey, triad, trine, trinity, trio, triplet, troika.

ternary (noun)	three (noun)
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one	one of four playing cards in a deck having three pips
	the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

ternary (adjective)	three (adjective)
having three units or components or elements	being one more than two