acrylamide
noun
Simple meaning
A white crystalline amide of propenoic acid can damage the nervous system and is carcinogenic in laboratory animals.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhkriluhmeedaySay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əkˈɹɪləˈmideɪ
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
organic chemistry
A white crystalline amide of propenoic acid can damage the nervous system and is carcinogenic in laboratory animals
“They claimed that acrylamide is produced when certain carbohydrates are baked or fried at high temperatures.”
organic chemistry
The amide of acrylic acid, CH₂=CH.CONH₂; used in the manufacture of polyacrylamides.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: A white crystalline amide of propenoic acid can damage the nervous system and is carcinogenic in laboratory animals
'Acrylamide' is a chemical often discussed in the context of food safety, particularly concerning certain cooked foods. It's a word mainly heard in scientific or health-related discussions, not everyday chat.
“They claimed that acrylamide is produced when certain carbohydrates are baked or fried at high temperatures.”
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where you'll really hear it
News report (health)
“Researchers are studying the levels of acrylamide in toasted foods.”
Food safety guidelines
“High-temperature cooking can increase acrylamide formation in some products.”
Scientific journal
“Acrylamide is a chemical compound found in certain starchy foods.”
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use acrylamide
- “They claimed that acrylamide is produced when certain carbohydrates are baked or fried at high temperatures.”noun
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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.