sulfonate
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A salt of sulphonic acid.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
suhlfohnaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsʌlfoʊˈneɪt
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
American spellingchemistry
A salt of sulphonic acid
American spellingchemistry
Any salt or ester of a sulfonic acid.
verb
To treat or react with a sulfonic acid, or to introduce such a group into a compound.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A salt of sulphonic acid
Used this way, sulfonate is a word tied to one variety of English 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
- Regional
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
Mainly used in American English, so it may read as unusual elsewhere.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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