crystalline
Americanadjective
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of or like crystal; clear; transparent.
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formed by crystallization.
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composed of crystals.
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pertaining to crystals or their formation.
adjective
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having the characteristics or structure of crystals
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consisting of or containing crystals
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made of or like crystal; transparent; clear
Other Word Forms
- crystallinity noun
- multicrystalline adjective
- noncrystalline adjective
- precrystalline adjective
- pseudocrystalline adjective
- subcrystalline adjective
- uncrystalline adjective
Etymology
Origin of crystalline
1350–1400; Middle English cristal ( l ) yn ( e ) < Latin crystallinus < Greek krystállinos. See crystal, -ine 1
Explanation
Things that are made of or resemble crystals are crystalline. Crystalline rocks you find on the beach are glittery and reflective, with many symmetrical planes or surfaces. A geologist will use the adjective crystalline very literally, describing crystalline chunks of quartz or the crystalline planes of a salt molecule seen under a microscope. Sometimes the word is also used to mean "extremely clear," like the crystalline prose of a short story or the crystalline forms of your striking black-and-white photography. The Greek source is krystallinos, "of crystal," from kryos, "frost."
Vocabulary lists containing crystalline
Earth Science - Middle School
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Structure and Properties of Matter - Middle School
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Rocks and Minerals - Introductory
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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.
Fleshwater’s crystalline guitar leads and tidal currents of noise hit so much harder for the revving percussion, which moves with the dexterity of metal and hardcore.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
L.A.’s smog changed just about everything around us — even the crystalline light that the Chamber of Commerce bragged about, that enticed people to come here.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
These included metals such as copper, noble gases under extreme pressure such as argon in crystalline state, and the complex solid-solid phase transition of tin.
From Science Daily • Mar. 15, 2026
And there’s nutty: a good crystalline parm or Manchego that adds both salt and depth.
From Salon • Dec. 16, 2025
Still Ralph heard every word of every speech as though it were the crystalline note of an ice chime.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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.
