Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

humectant

/hjuːˈmɛktənt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.47 in modern English

Syllables: humec-tant
IPA: /hjuːˈmɛktənt/

16

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any substance that promotes the retention of water, especially one used to keep a food product moist.

Example Sentences

"[…] that you have induced a horrid phlegmatic condition with will soon require a liberal and generous humectant to keep the very membranes of your very entrails from desquamating, chipping off and blocking up all the pipes of your body."
"The humectant is preferably added at this stage, subsequent to centrifuging, because it increases the viscosity of the slurry. The centrifuged material with the combined humectant is then dried to remove all or most of the water."
"Sorbitol is an excellent humectant and is used to extend the shelf life of many baked goods and fillings."

Etymology

From Latin ūmectāns, present participle of ūmectō (“to moisten”), from ūmectus (“moist”), from ūmeō (“to be moist”).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: ūmectāns

Inflected Forms

humectants (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce humectant?: The recorded pronunciation is /hjuːˈmɛktənt/.
What does humectant mean?: Any substance that promotes the retention of water, especially one used to keep a food product moist.
Where does humectant come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce humectant

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “humectant”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/hjuːˈmɛktənt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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