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shellac

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

shehlak

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈʃɛlæk

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. A processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca; used in polishes, varnishes etc.

  2. informalus

    A beating; a thrashing.

verb

  1. informalustransitive

    To beat; to thrash.

  2. informalustransitive

    To inflict a heavy defeat upon.

  3. Cover with shellac

    “She wanted to shellac the desk to protect it from water spots.”

  4. transitive

    To coat with shellac.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca; used in polishes, varnishes etc.

Used this way, shellac 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

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

More ways to use shellac

  • “She wanted to shellac the desk to protect it from water spots.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Lac

white shellacorange shellac

Thin

shellac varnishgum shellacstick shellac

Other combinations

clear shellacthin shellacshellac solution

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • shellac varnishnounCompound term

    A thin varnish made by dissolving lac in ethanol.

  • shellac waxnounCompound term

    A hard wax separated from shellac by its insolubility in alcohol.

  • french polish shellacnounCompound term

    A varnish for wood consisting of shellac dissolved in alcohol.

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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.