How do you pronounce vitreous?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈvɪtriəs/.

vitreous

/ˈvɪtriəs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.47 in modern English

Syllables: vit-re-ous
IPA: /ˈvɪtriəs/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or resembling glass; glassy.

adj

Of or relating to the vitreous humor of the eye.

adj

Having a shiny nonporous surface.

adj

Of a semi-crystalline substance where the atoms exhibit short-range order, but without the long-range order of a crystal.

adj

With a glass-like texture, often referring to volcanic rocks that cooled too quickly for crystals to form.

adj

Positive (of electric charge).

Dated

noun

The vitreous humor.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Pressing his fingertips against the rippled, vitreous surface, he had the odd sensation that were he to apply sufficient pressure the glass would give way like a permeable membrane, and he would be able to pass right through it, but when he pushed harder, the surface remained cold and unyielding."

Etymology

From Middle French vitreux, from Latin vitreus (“glassy, transparent”), from vitrum (“glass”). The terms vitreous (positive) and resinous (negative) electricity were coined in 1733 by Charles François de Cisternay du Fay, who studied the different behaviour of glass and resin when rubbed with silk and fur, respectively.

Word Breakdown

Root: *wed-

Usage

Inflected Forms

more vitreous (comparative) most vitreous (superlative) vitreouses (plural)

Derived Forms

ferrovitreous intravitreous midvitreous nonvitreous semivitreous subvitreous vitrectomy vitreouslike vitreously vitreousness

Phrases

vitreous body vitreous enamel vitreous fluid vitreous humour vitreous humor vitreous jelly vitreous touch syndrome

Frequently Paired Words

vitreous enamel vitreousness vitrifaction vitrifacture vitrification vitrify vitriolic

Synonyms

shiny smooth glassy vitrified

Antonyms

resinous