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colloidal suspension

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noun
  1. See under suspension(def 6).
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suspension

[suh-spen-shuh n]
noun
  1. the act of suspending.
  2. the state of being suspended.
  3. temporary abrogation or withholding, as of a law, privilege, decision, belief, etc.
  4. stoppage of payment of debts or claims because of financial inability or insolvency.
  5. Chemistry.
    1. the state in which the particles of a substance are mixed with a fluid but are undissolved.
    2. a substance in such a state.
  6. Physical Chemistry. a system consisting of small particles kept dispersed by agitation (mechanical suspension) or by the molecular motion in the surrounding medium (colloidal suspension).
  7. something on or by which something else is suspended or hung.
  8. something that is suspended or hung.
  9. Also called suspension system. the arrangement of springs, shock absorbers, hangers, etc., in an automobile, railway car, etc., connecting the wheel-suspension units or axles to the chassis frame.
  10. Electricity. a wire, filament, or group of wires by which the conducting part of an instrument or device is suspended.
  11. Music.
    1. the prolongation of a tone in one chord into the following chord, usually producing a temporary dissonance.
    2. the tone so prolonged.
  12. Rhetoric. the heightening of interest by delay of the main subject or clause, especially by means of a series of parallel preceding elements.
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Origin of suspension

1520–30; < Latin suspēnsiōn- (stem of suspēnsiō), equivalent to suspēns(us) (see suspense) + -iōn- -ion
Related formsnon·sus·pen·sion, nounpre·sus·pen·sion, nounre·sus·pen·sion, noun

Synonyms

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1–3. intermission, interruption, discontinuance, cessation, abeyance, hiatus.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for colloidal suspension

suspension

noun
  1. an interruption or temporary revocationthe suspension of a law
  2. a temporary debarment, as from position, privilege, etc
  3. a deferment, esp of a decision, judgment, etc
  4. law
    1. a postponement of execution of a sentence or the deferring of a judgment, etc
    2. a temporary extinguishment of a right or title
  5. cessation of payment of business debts, esp as a result of insolvency
  6. the act of suspending or the state of being suspended
  7. a system of springs, shock absorbers, etc, that supports the body of a wheeled or tracked vehicle and insulates it and its occupants from shocks transmitted by the wheelsSee also hydraulic suspension
  8. a device or structure, usually a wire or spring, that serves to suspend or support something, such as the pendulum of a clock
  9. chem a dispersion of fine solid or liquid particles in a fluid, the particles being supported by buoyancySee also colloid
  10. the process by which eroded particles of rock are transported in a river
  11. music one or more notes of a chord that are prolonged until a subsequent chord is sounded, usually to form a dissonance
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for colloidal suspension

suspension

n.

early 15c., "temporary halting or deprivation," from Latin suspensionem (nominative suspensio) "the act or state of hanging up, a vaulting," from past participle stem of suspendere "to hang" (see suspend).

A semblance of truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith. [Coleridge, "Biographia Literaria," 1817]

Meaning "action of hanging by a support from above" is attested from 1540s. Suspension bridge first recorded 1821.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
colloidal suspension in Medicine

suspension

(sə-spĕn′shən)
n.
  1. A noncolloidal dispersion of solid particles in a liquid, often used for pharmaceutical preparations.
  2. The fixation of an organ to other tissue for support, as the uterus.
  3. The hanging of a part from a support, such as a plaster-encased limb.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
colloidal suspension in Science

suspension

[sə-spĕn′shən]
  1. A mixture in which small particles of a substance are dispersed throughout a gas or liquid. If a suspension is left undisturbed, the particles are likely to settle to the bottom. The particles in a suspension are larger than those in either a colloid or a solution. Muddy water is an example of a suspension. Compare colloid solution.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.