absorbent
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhbzawrbuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əbˈzɔɹbənt
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.
adjective
Having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up something (liquids or energy etc.)
Having the ability or tendency to absorb; able to soak up liquid easily; absorptive.
noun
Anything which absorbs.
medicine
Any substance which absorbs and neutralizes acid fluid in the stomach and bowels, as magnesia, chalk, etc.; also a substance, e.g., iodine, which acts on the absorbent vessels so as to reduce enlarged and indurated parts.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up something (liquids or energy etc.)
An 'absorbent' material is one that effectively soaks up liquids or takes in energy. It's often used when describing practical items like sponges or towels, focusing on their function.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Household product labels
“Our new towels are extra absorbent and quick-drying.”
Science experiments
“The special material acted as a sound absorbent barrier.”
Gardening tips
“Add peat moss to make your soil more absorbent.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Cotton made absorbent by removal of the natural wax.
A material having capacity or tendency to absorb another substance.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: having power or capacity or tendency to absorb
Antonyms
Sense: having power or capacity or tendency to absorb
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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.