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fermentation

noun

Simple meaning

Any of many anaerobic biochemical reactions in which an enzyme catalyses the conversion of one substance into another.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

fermuhntayshuhn

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

fɚmənˈteɪʃən

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. biochemistry

    Any of many anaerobic biochemical reactions in which an enzyme (or several enzymes produced by a microorganism) catalyses the conversion of one substance into another; especially the conversion (using yeast) of sugars to alcohol or acetic acid with the evolution of carbon dioxide

  2. A state of agitation or excitement; a ferment.

  3. A state of agitation or turbulent change or development

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (biochemistry) Any of many anaerobic biochemical reactions in which an enzyme (or several enzymes produced by a microorganism) catalyses the conversion of one substance into another; especially the conversion (using yeast) of sugars to alcohol or acetic acid with the evolution of carbon dioxide

Used this way, fermentation 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.

Anaerobic / agent

alcoholic fermentationacid fermentationanaerobic fermentation

Other combinations

fermentation processbacterial fermentationfermentation brothlactic fermentation

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • fermentation alcoholnounCompound term

    The intoxicating agent in fermented and distilled liquors.

  • bottom fermentationnounCompound term

    A slow kind of alcoholic fermentation at a temperature low enough that the yeast cells can sink to the bottom of the fermenting liquid.

  • top fermentationnounCompound term

    A violent kind of alcoholic fermentation at a temperature high enough to carry the yeast cells to the top of the fermenting liquid.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: any of many anaerobic biochemical reactions in which an enzyme (or several enzymes produced by a microorganism) catalyses the conversion of one substance into another

agitation

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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.