filamentous

[fil-uh-men-tuhs]

adjective

1. composed of or containing filaments.

2. pertaining to or resembling a filament.

3. bearing filaments.

Other Word Forms

• interfilamentous adjective
• nonfilamentous adjective
• unfilamentous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of filamentous¹

First recorded in 1665–75; filament + -ous

Example Sentences

Fertilization in mammals begins when a sperm attaches to the egg coat, a filamentous extracellular envelope that sperm must penetrate in order to fuse with the egg.

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Her research aims to use injected filamentous hydrogel material to regrow heart tissue damaged after a heart attack.

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To maintain this protection, the study noted that segmented filamentous bacteria required immune cells in the lungs called basally resident alveolar macrophages.

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Their results revise the understanding of the relationships of a group of filamentous algal land colonizers much older than land plants.

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Moss balls, or "marimo" in Japanese, are popular pet water plants that are not a moss but a special growth form of filamentous algae.

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