top definitions
quizzes
related content
examples
explore dictionary
british
medical

crystalline

[ kris-tl-in, -ahyn, -een ]

/ ˈkrɪs tl ɪn, -ˌaɪn, -ˌin /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR crystalline ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or like crystal; clear; transparent.

formed by crystallization.

composed of crystals.

pertaining to crystals or their formation.

VIDEO FOR CRYSTALLINE

WATCH NOW: We Asked: What's Your Favorite Winter Word?

It's cold. It's dark. It's the middle of winter. But some people like winter, right? To find out, we asked these people what their favorite winter words are. Do you agree?

MORE VIDEOS FROM DICTIONARY.COM

QUIZZES

IS YOUR VOCABULARY AS STRONG AS A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT? TRY THIS QUIZ TO SEE!

It may seem like fun and games but this quiz that uses vocab from popular stories will determine how much you know.

Question 1 of 10

disgruntle

to deprive of ability, qualification, or strength

to put into a state of sulky dissatisfaction

to make repayment or return for (service, benefits, etc.)

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of crystalline

1350–1400; Middle English cristal(l)yn(e) <Latin crystallinus<Greek krystállinos.See crystal, -ine¹

OTHER WORDS FROM crystalline

crys·tal·lin·i·ty

[kris-tl-in-i-tee], /ˌkrɪs tlˈɪn ɪ ti/, nounmul·ti·crys·tal·line, adjectivenon·crys·tal·line, adjectivepre·crys·tal·line, adjective

pseu·do·crys·tal·line, adjectivesub·crys·tal·line, adjectiveun·crys·tal·line, adjective

Words nearby crystalline

Crystal Lake, crystal lattice, crystalli-, crystalliferous, crystallin, crystalline, crystalline lens, crystallite, crystallization, crystallize, crystallo-

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for crystalline

Soon enough, I felt my own guts rebelling and stepped out into the crystalline Andean night.
Spirit Tripping With Colombian Shamans|Chris Allbritton|August 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They slowed, and the rushing sound gave way to a hush that made the crystalline tranquillity complete.
Exclusive Photo: Gabrielle Giffords’s Navy SEAL Skydive|Michael Daly|February 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was crystalline clear about the example set by his father.
NYPD Scandals Obscure the Decency of the Majority, Cops Say|Michael Daly|November 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
But the crystalline force-field crashed out with a viciousness of its own.
Before Egypt|E. K. Jarvis

But there is no novelist who gives so much room to the pure, crystalline, eternally youthful feeling of love.
Rudin|Ivan Turgenev
An atmosphere of crystalline purity discloses the highest range of the interior, a long chain of azure peaks.
Through the Malay Archipelago|Emily Richings
Each face on the insects eye is considered as a crystalline lens, concave within, and convex without.
The Mosaic History of the Creation of the World|Thomas Wood
Hence the origin of the primary or crystalline strata,—gneiss, mica-schist, and the rest.
A Manual of Elementary Geology|Charles Lyell.

British Dictionary definitions for crystalline

crystalline

/ (ˈkrɪstəˌlaɪn) /

adjective

having the characteristics or structure of crystals

consisting of or containing crystals

made of or like crystal; transparent; clear

Derived forms of crystalline

crystallinity (ˌkrɪstəˈlɪnɪtɪ), noun

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

Medical definitions for crystalline

crystalline

[ krĭs′tə-lĭn, -līn′, -lēn′ ]

adj.

Being, relating to, or composed of crystal or crystals.

Resembling crystal, as in transparency or distinctness of structure or outline.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.