hydrophilic
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Usage
What does hydrophilic mean? Describing something as hydrophilic means that it tends to be attracted to water or that it tends to easily dissolve in, mix with, absorb, or be saturated by water. In general, hydrophilic describes things that tend to interact with or be affected by water in some way. Hydrophilic is used in the context of science, especially chemistry, to describe many different substances or chemicals, such as ammonia, ethanol, table salt, and table sugar. Hydrophilic can also appear in a wide range of other fields, such as hydrophilic medicine. In construction or plumbing, some metals and surfaces are described as hydrophilic.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hydrophilic
Vocabulary lists containing hydrophilic
Cell Biology - High School
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Biochemistry
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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.
When applied to the stalactite-shaped nanopores embedded in a silicon-nitride membrane, the outward-facing hydrophilic heads attract an extremely thin layer of water.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 9, 2026
Water is attracted to the hydrophilic areas and droplets are accumulated and transported through the hydrophobic areas.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 19, 2024
We call them "hydrophilic" or water loving; those are the ones that will make your food taste bad.
From Salon ● May 2, 2023
First, they made individual polymers, linking a hydrophobic, or oil-like portion, to a hydrophilic, or waterlike strand.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 29, 2022
Thus, both surfaces of the plasma membrane are hydrophilic.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
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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.
