soluble
/ˈsɒljʊb(ə)l
/adjective
1(Of a substance) able to be dissolved, especially in water: the poison is soluble in alcohol...
- The respiratory gases exchange freely across the membrane, because oxygen and carbon dioxide are soluble in lipid.
- For example inorganic salts are generally soluble in water but not in organic solvents.
- Unlike silver nitrate, silver chloride is not soluble in water, but it seemed more promising.
2(Of a problem) able to be solved: there have been periods when crime and disorder seemed soluble problems...
- Not all problems are soluble, not all risks can be hedged at acceptable cost.
- By providing methods of determining which problems are soluble, Kleene's work led to the study of which functions can be computed.
- The problem is easily soluble - get the oil hotter and the batter thinner.
Derivatives
solubility
/ noun ...- When exposed to light, the photoresist undergoes a chemical change that alters its solubility in a certain solvent.
- Gum arabic is unique among the natural gums because of its extreme solubility in water and its lack of taste.
- The solubility of a gas in another substance is expressed as the volume of gas which dissolves in the substance under stated conditions of temperature and pressure.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French, from late Latin solubilis, from solvere (see solve).
solve from Late Middle English:
The early senses of solve were ‘loosen, dissolve, untie’; the source is Latin solvere ‘loosen, unfasten’. Other words sharing this base are late Middle English soluble and solution, and mid 17th century solvent. From the same Latin root come absolve (Late Middle English) ‘loosen from’; dissolve (Late Middle English) ‘loosen apart’; dissolute (Late Middle English) of loose morals; and resolve (Late Middle English) ‘thoroughly loosen’.
Rhymes
- mouth-organist
- mouthpart
- mouthpiece
- mouth pipe
- mouth plate
- mouth pore
- mouth ring
- mouth-root
- mouth rot
- mouth-to-mouth
- mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
- mouth-to-nose
- mouth ulcer
- mouthwash
- mouth-water
- mouth-watering
- mouth-wateringly
- mouthy
- mouton
- mouton enragé
- Mouton-Rothschild
- mouvementé
- movability
- movable
- déjà vu