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metabolic

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Related to the marked and rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in some animals.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mehtuhbahlik

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IPA pronunciation (US)

mɛtəˈbɑlɪk

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.

adjective

  1. Of or relating to metabolism

  2. Of or pertaining to metamorphosis; pertaining to, or involving, change.

  3. Undergoing metamorphosis

noun

  1. informal

    A nutritional supplement

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Of or relating to metabolism

Used this way, metabolic 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
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use metabolic

  • “Exercise can help boost your metabolic rate and burn more calories.”

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

metabolic ratemetabolic acidosismetabolic syndromemetabolic alkalosismetabolic pathwaymetabolic activitymetabolic effectsmetabolic control

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • metabolismnounDerived noun

    The marked and rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in some animals.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • metabolic acidosisnounCompound term

    Acidosis and bicarbonate concentration in the body fluids resulting either from the accumulation of acids or the abnormal loss of bases from the body (as in diarrhea or renal disease).

  • metabolic alkalosisnounCompound term

    Alkalosis resulting from hydrogen-ion loss or excessive intake of alkaline substances.

  • metabolic disordernounCompound term

    A disorder or defect of metabolism.

  • metabolic processnounCompound term

    The organic processes (in a cell or organism) that are necessary for life.

  • metabolic ratenounCompound term

    Rate of metabolism.

  • basal metabolic ratenounCompound term

    The rate at which heat is produced by an individual in a resting state.

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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.