absorbent adj : having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up (liquids); "as absorbent as a sponge" [syn: absorptive] [ant: nonabsorbent] n : a material having capacity or tendency to absorb another substance [syn: absorbent material]

English

Pronunciation

• /əbs"ɔː(r)bənt/
• SAMPA:

Etymology

Latin absorbens, past preterite of absorbere.

Adjective

1. absorbing; swallowing; absorptive.

   Those paper towels were amazingly absorbent. That was quite a spill.

Derived terms

• absorbent ground In the context of "painting": a ground prepared for a picture, chiefly with distemper, or water colors, by which the oil is absorbed, and a brilliancy is imparted to the colors.

Translations

Noun

1. Anything which absorbs.
   • The ocean, itself a bad absorbent of heat. — Charles Darwin
2. In the context of "medicine": Any substance which absorbs and neutralizes acid fluid in the stomach and bowels, as magnesia, chalk, etc.; also a substance, e.g., iodine, which acts on the absorbent vessels so as to reduce enlarged and indurated parts.
3. In the context of "physiology|pluralized": The vessels by which the processes of absorption are carried on, as the lymphatics in animals, the extremities of the roots in plants.

Translations

• French: absorbant
• Interlingua: absorbente (1)
• Portuguese: absorvente (1)
• Russian: абсорбент (absorbént)
• Spanish: absorbente

French

Verb

1. Form of Third-person plural present indicative, absorber
2. Form of Third-person plural present subjunctive, absorber#French|absorber

Absorption may refer to:

Chemistry and biology

• Absorption (chemistry), absorption of particles of gas or liquid in liquid or solid material
• Absorption (skin), a route by which substances can enter the body through the skin
• Absorption (pharmacokinetics), absorption of drugs in body

Physics and mechanical engineering

• Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of light or other electromagnetic radiation by a material
• Absorption (acoustics), absorption of sound waves by a material
• Dielectric absorption, a determination of how electrically permitive a material is
• Absorption refrigerator, a refrigerator that runs on surplus heat rather than electricity
• Absorption air conditioning, a type of solar air conditioning

Mathematics and economics

• Absorption law, in mathematics, an identity linking a pair of binary operations
• Absorption (economics), the total demand of an economy for goods and services both from within and without

See also

• Adsorption, the formation of a liquid or gas film on a solid surface.
• Digestion, the uptake of substances by the gastrointestinal tract.
• Flow (psychology), a state of total mental "absorption".

absorbency, absorption, adsorbent, adsorption, assimilation, blotter, blotting, blotting paper, chemisorption, chemosorption, digestion, endosmosis, engrossment, exosmosis, infiltration, osmosis, percolation, seepage, sorption, sponge, sponging