molecular
Americanadjective
adjective
-
of or relating to molecules
molecular hydrogen
-
logic (of a sentence, formula, etc) capable of analysis into atomic formulae of the appropriate kind
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of molecular
Compare meaning
How does molecular compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Use the adjective molecular to describe something that has to do with or is made up of molecules. If you're studying molecular biology, you're focusing on the molecules that make up living things. When a scientist studies things on a molecular level, she's looking at them up close, examining their cells. The adjective molecular comes up most often in biology and chemistry, and it always describes the very smallest units that make up organisms or elements. Molecular comes from the noun molecule, which means "extremely minute particle," from the Latin molecula, "tiny mass."
Vocabulary lists containing molecular
1.7.B Using Ice to Keep Orange Groves Warm
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Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Aging is the strongest known risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, yet researchers still do not fully understand which molecular changes associated with getting older cause these conditions to develop.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Even so, the results address an important gap in neurodegenerative disease research by identifying a direct molecular connection between aging and neurodegeneration.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Instead, they lost the molecular characteristics that allowed them to function as muscle stem cells.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
"This particular seaweed is so small I needed to get some molecular data," Prof Maggs explains.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Upon pressing Maurice, I learned that the jigs for the molecular models had not been touched after arriving at his lab.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
