capacitance
noun
Simple meaning
An electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kuhpasuhtuhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kəˈpæsətəns
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
physicsuncountable
An electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored
“Touchscreens use capacitance to detect when a finger touches the glass.”
physicsuncountable
An electrical device characterized by its capacity to store an electric charge
physicsuncountable
The property of an electric circuit or its element that permits it to store charge, defined as the ratio of stored charge to potential over that element or circuit (Q/V); SI unit: farad (F).
physicscountable
An element of an electrical circuit exhibiting capacitance.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: An electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored
Used this way, capacitance 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.
“Touchscreens use capacitance to detect when a finger touches the glass.”
- 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.
Nearby words
- electrical capacity , rarer, so it draws attention
Natural pattern: capacitance to …
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.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
An electrical device characterized by its capacity to store an electric charge.
Capability to perform or produce.
Related to an electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A measure of the capacity of a circuit component to store charge.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- capacitornoun
- electrolytenoun
- resistornoun
- dielectricnoun
- impedancenoun
- voltagenoun
- electrodenoun
- conductiveadjective
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored
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