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
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.
Studying glass presents a challenge because its atoms do not follow the regular, repeating arrangement found in crystalline materials.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
The exhibition’s 11 sections unfold not chronologically, but more in the manner of evolution on earth, moving from simple and crystalline to complex and fleshed out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Over time, erosion along this immense rocky boundary removed huge amounts of material, eventually exposing ancient crystalline basement rocks that can now be seen in the Grand Canyon in southern Arizona.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
The medical association pointed to the success of Australia’s nationwide prohibition of artificial stone containing more than 1% crystalline silica.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
On either side, crystalline rock had been carved into glittering Grecian columns.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
