cadmium
noun
Simple meaning
A chemical element with an atomic number of 48: a soft, silvery-white metal.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kadmeeuhmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkædmiəm
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
A chemical element (symbol Cd) with an atomic number of 48: a soft, silvery-white metal.
countable
A single atom of this element.
Word at a Glance
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A chemical element (symbol Cd) with an atomic number of 48: a soft, silvery-white metal.
Used this way, cadmium 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
- Moderate
- 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.
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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.
A standard voltaic cell (trademark Weston).
Orange-hued cadmium yellow pigment.
A yellow sulfide used chiefly as a pigment.
Ore of cadmium.
Pigment of cadmium sulfide and barium sulfate varying in hue from lemon yellow to orange.
Pale-hued cadmium yellow pigment.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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