alkaline-earth metal
noun
Simple meaning
Any of the bivalent metals of group II of the periodic table.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
alkuhluhnuhurthmuhtuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈælkələnəˈɝθmɛtəl
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
inorganic chemistry
Any of the bivalent metals of group II of the periodic table (calcium or strontium or barium or magnesium or beryllium)
inorganic chemistry
Any of the elements of group II of the periodic table; they are low-density metals that react readily with water to form strongly basic hydroxides, and with many acids to form salts.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: Any of the bivalent metals of group II of the periodic table (calcium or strontium or barium or magnesium or beryllium)
Used this way, alkaline-earth metal is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
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.
Share your sentence
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “alkaline-earth metal” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
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.
