crystalline

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

/ ˈkrɪs tl ɪn, -ˌaɪn, -ˌin /

SEE MORE 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.

Nearby words

crystall-, crystall., crystalli-, crystalliferous, crystallin, crystalline, crystalline lens, crystallite, crystallization, crystallize, crystallo-

Origin of crystalline

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

Related forms

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples 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

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

Medicine 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.

Science definitions for crystalline

crystal

[ krĭs′təl ]

A homogenous solid formed by a repeating, three-dimensional pattern of atoms, ions, or molecules and having smooth external surfaces with characteristic angles between them. Crystals can occur in many sizes and shapes.♦ The particular arrangement in space of these atoms, molecules, or ions, and the way in which they are joined, is called a crystal lattice. There are seven crystal groups or systems. Each is defined on the basis of the geometrical arrangement of the crystal lattice.

A natural or synthetic material, such as quartz or ceramic, that consists of such crystals. When subjected to mechanical stresses, crystalline materials can generate an electric charge or, when subjected to an electric field, they can generate mechanical vibrations in what is known as the piezoelectric effect.
An electrical device, such as an oscillator or a diode used for detecting radio signals, made of such a material.

Related forms

crystalline adjective