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cryptocrystalline
[ krip-toh-kris-tl-in, -ahyn ]
/ ˌkrɪp toʊˈkrɪs tl ɪn, -ˌaɪn /
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adjective Mineralogy.
having a microscopic crystalline structure.
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Origin of cryptocrystalline
First recorded in 1860–65; crypto- + crystalline
Words nearby cryptocrystalline
cryptoclimate, cryptoclimatology, cryptococcal meningitis, cryptococcosis, cryptococcus, cryptocrystalline, cryptocurrency, crypt of iris, cryptogam, cryptogenic, cryptogenic septicemia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use cryptocrystalline in a sentence
That is, the metamorphic rocks are characteristically holocrystalline, while igneous rocks are porphyritic, or cryptocrystalline.
North America|Israel C. Russell
British Dictionary definitions for cryptocrystalline
cryptocrystalline
/ (ˌkrɪptəʊˈkrɪstəlaɪn) /
adjective
(of rocks) composed of crystals that can be distinguished individually only by the use of a polarizing microscope
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
Scientific definitions for cryptocrystalline
cryptocrystalline
[ krĭp′tō-krĭs′tə-lĭn, -līn′ ]
Having a microscopic crystalline structure, as the mineral chalcedony does.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.