adjective
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Capable of neutralizing an acid. Bases are alkaline.
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Relating to an alkali compound.
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Having a pH greater than 7.
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Having a relatively low concentration of hydrogen ions.
Etymology
Origin of alkaline
Vocabulary lists containing alkaline
Chemistry - High School
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Chemistry - Middle School
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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.
The process - called alkaline hydrolysis - will offer families a third option instead of burial or traditional cremation.
From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026
“When the Emperor Was Divine” takes place in Utah, in “a city of tar-paper barracks behind a barbed-wire fence on a dusty alkaline plain.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
The results were all over the map, but at least one finding was consistent: All but one of the properties showed evidence of high pH, or increased alkalinity, likely because ash is highly alkaline.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2025
This charge allows them to work throughout the body in chemical reactions that maintain normal brain functioning, balance fluids inside and outside of body cells and even balance how acidic or alkaline your blood is.
From Salon • Jan. 21, 2025
When the soil is too alkaline, which can be thought of as being too sweet, you need to add sulfur.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
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.
