pvc
noun
Simple meaning
A thermoplastic resin produced by the polymerization of vinyl chloride.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
peeveeseeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpiviˈsi
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 chemistry
A thermoplastic resin produced by the polymerization of vinyl chloride; used as an electrical insulator and in many other applications. Can be compounded into flexible and rigid forms through the use of plasticizers, stabilizers, fillers and other modifiers.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (organic chemistry) A thermoplastic resin produced by the polymerization of vinyl chloride; used as an electrical insulator and in many other applications. Can be compounded into flexible and rigid forms through the use of plasticizers, stabilizers, fillers and other modifiers.
Used this way, pvc 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.
More ways to use pvc
- “We used PVC pipes for the new plumbing in the house.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- siliconenoun
- polyethylenenoun
- chloridenoun
- polypropylenenoun
- polyesternoun
- teflonnoun
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: thermoplastic resin produced by the polymerization of vinyl chloride
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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.