amalgam
Americannoun
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an alloy of mercury with another metal or metals.
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an alloy that consists chiefly of silver mixed with mercury and variable amounts of other metals and is used as a dental filling.
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a rare mineral, an alloy of silver and mercury, occurring as silver-white crystals or grains.
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a mixture or combination.
His character is a strange amalgam of contradictory traits.
noun
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an alloy of mercury with another metal, esp with silver
dental amalgam
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a rare white metallic mineral that consists of silver and mercury and occurs in deposits of silver and cinnabar
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a blend or combination
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An alloy of mercury and another metal, especially:
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An alloy of mercury and silver used in dental fillings.
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An alloy of silver and tin used in silvering mirrors.
Etymology
Origin of amalgam
1425–75; late Middle English amalgam ( e ) < Middle French < Medieval Latin < dialectal Arabic al the + malgham < Greek málagma softening agent, equivalent to malak- (stem of malássein to soften) + -ma noun suffix
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 questions of marriage and having children were sort of an amalgam of two real relationships that I merged into one onscreen.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2026
Ironically, it never took place in reality, and was an amalgam of reports of riots and carnage throughout the city.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
Nations meeting in Geneva agreed "to end the use of dental amalgam by 2034, marking a historic milestone in reducing mercury pollution", the conference announced in its closing statement.
From Barron's • Nov. 7, 2025
Last month, an amalgam of Celtic fans' groups called the Celtic Fan Collective had a meeting with some key people at the club and they asked if Rodgers had the final say on all players.
From BBC • Oct. 28, 2025
Between the flinty crests of the two outermost escarpments of the Outer Range runs an east-west trough, maybe five miles across, carpeted in a boggy amalgam of muskeg, alder thickets, and veins of scrawny spruce.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
