graphite
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
grafahytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡɹæfaɪt
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 grey colour, resembling graphite or the marks made with a graphite pencil.
Used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors
Graphite-reinforced plastic, a composite plastic made with graphite fibers noted for lightweight strength and stiffness.
verb
transitive
To apply graphite to.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A grey colour, resembling graphite or the marks made with a graphite pencil.
Used this way, graphite is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- plumbago , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use graphite
- “My pencil broke, so I had to sharpen it to reveal the new graphite tip.”noun
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: grey colour or resembling graphite
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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.