emissive

Emissive is used to describe things that emit or involve emission—the discharge or release of things like gas, heat, light, or sound.

Emit means to release or discharge something. Emission can refer to the process of emitting or something that has been emitted, as in carbon emissions.

Emissive is often used to describe things that give off light or heat. The term LED stands for “light-emitting diode,” a semiconductor device that emits light when conducting current and is used in things like TVs and light bulbs.

Example: When it comes to the emission of carbon dioxide, cars and airplanes are much more emissive collectively than volcanoes.

The first records of the word emissive come from the 1730s. It ultimately derives from the Latin verb ēmittere, from e-, meaning “out of,” and mittere, “to send.”

To emit something is to send it out or give it off, often in a passive way. Emissive is applied to things involving this process. A certain material may be described as more emissive than another in terms of how much heat it emits. In the context of computer graphics, emissive is sometimes used to describe objects that give off light.

What are some other forms related to emissive?

• unemissive (adjective)
• emit (verb)

What are some words that share a root or word element with emissive? 

• emission
• permissive
• remit
• remission
• mission

What are some words that often get used in discussing emissive?

• discharge
• give off
• emanate
• heat
• gas
• sound
• light

Emissive is not commonly used. It’s most often found in technical or scientific contexts.

@ham_simple emissivity has more to do with surface color than material. Seasoned steel gets darker and more emissive with use.

— The Food Lab (@TheFoodLab) January 5, 2015

Both are in valleys. In Bodie, cold air produced at night from highly emissive surfaces, drains into the valley. In Death Valley, barren rock slopes bake in the sun and at night emit IR to the valley below. Also, the valley floor is not as emissive as up in Bodie. (Warm nights)

— Timothy E. Wright (@wrighthydromet) August 6, 2018

"A highly reflective and highly emissive metal roof is optimal for reducing energy consumption." https://t.co/ThcNQrDvRr

— Cox Roofing (@CoxRoofingMD) July 21, 2017

Is emissive used correctly in the following sentence?

This material was used for its emissive qualities.