gaseous

[gas-ee-uh s, gash-uh s]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gaseous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

existing in the state of a gas; not solid or liquid.

pertaining to or having the characteristics of gas.

Informal. lacking firmness or solidity; uncertain; not definite.

gassy(defs 1, 3).

Origin of gaseous

First recorded in 1790–1800; gas + -eous

Related formsgas·e·ous·ness, gas·e·i·ty

[ga-see-i-tee] /gæˈsi ɪ ti/, nounnon·gas·e·ous, adjectivenon·gas·e·ous·ness, nounpseu·do·gas·e·ous, adjectivequa·si-gas·e·ous, adjective

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

Related Words for gaseous

effervescent, aeriform

Examples from the Web for gaseous

Contemporary Examples of gaseous

Was Obama so gaseous in the classroom when he taught constitutional law?
Obama’s War on Journalism: ‘An Unconstitutional Act’
Nick Gillespie
May 22, 2013
And let's put that Gaseous Diffusion Plant in...well, on second thought, keep it, Kentucky.
No Cash for You, Kentucky
Paul Begala
February 15, 2011

Historical Examples of gaseous

The laughter that followed the exposure of this gaseous trick may be imagined.
Scientific American magazine Vol 2. No. 3 Oct 10 1846
Various
Huggins has found that the spectrum of this nebula is not gaseous.
Aether and Gravitation
William George Hooper
Some of the nebulæ are now known to be gaseous, and some of them at least are in a state of rotation.
Pioneers of Science
Oliver Lodge
Occupying so much bulk it could not have been solid, nor yet liquid, but it might have been gaseous.
Pioneers of Science
Oliver Lodge
It seems strange, indeed, that any gaseous mass should move at such a speed!
Astronomy of To-day
Cecil G. Dolmage

British Dictionary definitions for gaseous

gaseous

adjective

of, concerned with, or having the characteristics of a gas

Derived Formsgaseousness, 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

Word Origin and History for gaseous

adj.

1799, from gas (n.) + -ous.

gaseous in Medicine

gaseous

[găs′ē-əs, găsh′əs]

adj.

Of, relating to, or existing as a gas.

Full of or containing gas; gassy.

gaseous in Science

gas

[găs]

One of four main states of matter, composed of molecules in constant random motion. Unlike a solid, a gas has no fixed shape and will take on the shape of the space available. Unlike a liquid, the intermolecular forces are very small; it has no fixed volume and will expand to fill the space available.

Related formsgaseous adjective (găs′ē-əs, găsh′əs)