ethane
noun
Simple meaning
The same compound, subjected to modification by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms with other radicals.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehthaynSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛθeɪn
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 chemistrycountable
The same compound, subjected to modification by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms with other radicals.
organic chemistryuncountable
An aliphatic hydrocarbon, C₂H₆, gaseous at normal temperatures and pressures, being a constituent of natural gas.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (organic chemistry, countable) The same compound, subjected to modification by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms with other radicals.
Used this way, ethane 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.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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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.