ablation
noun
Simple meaning
The progressive removal of material by any of a variety of processes such as melting or vaporization under heat or chipping.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhblayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əbˈleɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
surgery
Surgical removal of a body part or tissue
sciences
The progressive removal of material by any of a variety of processes such as melting or vaporization under heat or chipping.
meteorology
The depletion of surface snow and ice from a spacecraft or meteorite through melting and evaporation caused by aerodynamic heating.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (sciences) The progressive removal of material by any of a variety of processes such as melting or vaporization under heat or chipping.
'Ablation' is primarily a scientific or medical term, referring to the removal of material through specific physical processes. It sounds much more technical and precise than general terms like 'removal' or 'erosion'.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Medical procedures
“Cardiac ablation treats irregular heart rhythms by precise tissue removal.”
Geology textbooks
“Glacial ablation refers to the loss of ice from a glacier.”
Space engineering
“The spacecraft shield prevents damage through ablative cooling.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: surgical removal of a body part or tissue
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.