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• ionic
  ionic

  adjective

  of or relating to ions.
• Ionic
  Ionic

  adjective

  noting or pertaining to one of the five classical orders that in ancient Greece consisted of a fluted column with a molded base and a capital composed of four volutes, usually parallel to the architrave with a pulvinus connecting a pair on each side of the column, and an entablature typically consisting of an architrave of three fascias, a richly ornamented frieze, and a cornice corbeled out on egg-and-dart and dentil moldings, with the frieze sometimes omitted. Roman and Renaissance examples are often more elaborate, and usually set the volutes of the capitals at 45° to the architrave.

ionic

¹ American  

[ahy-on-ik] / aɪˈɒn ɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to ions.

2. pertaining to or occurring in the form of ions.

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Ionic ² American  

[ahy-on-ik] / aɪˈɒn ɪk /

adjective

1. Architecture. noting or pertaining to one of the five classical orders that in ancient Greece consisted of a fluted column with a molded base and a capital composed of four volutes, usually parallel to the architrave with a pulvinus connecting a pair on each side of the column, and an entablature typically consisting of an architrave of three fascias, a richly ornamented frieze, and a cornice corbeled out on egg-and-dart and dentil moldings, with the frieze sometimes omitted. Roman and Renaissance examples are often more elaborate, and usually set the volutes of the capitals at 45° to the architrave.

2. Prosody. noting or employing a foot consisting either of two long followed by two short syllables greater Ionic, or of two short followed by two long syllables lesser Ionic.

3. noting or pertaining to that variety of the eastern branch of the early Greek alphabet that was used for the writing of the Ionic dialect and that became the variety used for all dialects of Greek from the 4th century b.c. to the present.

4. of or relating to Ionia or the Ionians.

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noun

1. Prosody. an Ionic foot, verse, or meter.

2. the dialect of ancient Greek spoken in Euboea, the Cyclades, and on the mainland of Asia Minor at Miletus and elsewhere.

3. Trademark. a style of printing type.

ionic ¹ British  

/ aɪˈɒnɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or occurring in the form of ions

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Ionic ² British  

/ aɪˈɒnɪk /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or relating to one of the five classical orders of architecture, characterized by fluted columns and capitals with scroll-like ornaments See also Doric composite Tuscan Corinthian

2. of or relating to Ionia, its inhabitants, or their dialect of Ancient Greek

3. prosody of, relating to, designating, or employing Ionics in verse

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noun

1. one of four chief dialects of Ancient Greek; the dialect spoken in Ionia Compare Aeolic Arcadic Doric See also Attic

2. (in classical prosody) a type of metrical foot having either two long followed by two short syllables ( greater Ionic ), or two short followed by two long syllables ( lesser Ionic )

Ionic Cultural  

1. One of the three main styles of Greek architecture (the others are Corinthian and Doric). The Ionic column is slender and finely fluted; its capital is in the shape of a scroll.

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Other Word Forms

• non-Ionic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of ionic¹

First recorded in 1885–90; ion + -ic

Origin of Ionic²

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin Iōnicus, from Greek Iōnikós “of Ionia ”; see -ic

Explanation

Ionic things have something to do with ions, or charged molecules. An ionic bond is the attraction that occurs between ions with opposite charges. When you see the adjective ionic, you'll know the topic is science. There are ionic compounds, which are two or more atoms held together with ionic bonding. There's also ionic strength, a measurement of the concentration of ions within a chemical solution. Don't confuse ionic—named for the Greek ion, "go," because ions move toward their opposite charge—with iconic, "relating to an icon or symbol."

Example Sentences

Ionic Mineral Technologies was mining the clay in Utah when it chanced upon what could be the critical mineral equivalent of a gold mine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

"Ionic Industries was established to commercialize innovations such as these and we are now making commercial quantities of these graphene materials," said Dr. Aitchison.

From Science Daily • Dec. 1, 2025

The building’s fluted Corinthian columns are right at home in neoclassical Washington, but they aren’t a match with the rest of the White House, with its simpler, smooth columns and Ionic capitals.

From Slate • Aug. 5, 2025

Its Ionic columns and limestone facade, its guest rooms and conference rooms and dining rooms — gone.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 1, 2024

Along the opposite wall were curtained French doors bounded by two large Ionic columns.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

Related Words

• classic
• humanistic