liquid
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
A substance that is flowing, and keeping no shape, such as water.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lihkwuhdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlɪkwəd
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
physical chemistry
A substance that is flowing, and keeping no shape, such as water; a substance of which the molecules, while not tending to separate from one another like those of a gas, readily change their relative position, and which therefore retains no definite shape, except that determined by the containing receptacle; an inelastic fluid.
adjective
financeof an asset
Easily sold or disposed of without losing value.
physical chemistry
Flowing freely like water; fluid; not solid and not gaseous; composed of particles that move freely among each other on the slightest pressure.
Flowing or sounding smoothly or without abrupt transitions or harsh tones.
Fluid and transparent.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (physical chemistry) A substance that is flowing, and keeping no shape, such as water; a substance of which the molecules, while not tending to separate from one another like those of a gas, readily change their relative position, and which therefore retains no definite shape, except that determined by the containing receptacle; an inelastic fluid.
Used this way, liquid 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.
Nearby words
- semiliquid , 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 liquid
- “Water and milk and blood are liquid substances.”adjective
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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.
Termination of a business operation by using its assets to discharge its liabilities.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A detergent in liquid form.
A diet of foods that can be served in liquid or strained form (plus custards or puddings).
Street names for gamma hydroxybutyrate.
A unit of capacity for liquids (for measuring the volumes of liquids or their containers).
A nuclear reactor using liquid metal as a coolant.
Nitrogen in a liquid state.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Antonyms
Sense: substance that is flowing
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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.