igneous
Americanadjective
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Geology. produced under conditions involving intense heat, as rocks of volcanic origin or rocks crystallized from molten magma.
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of, relating to, or characteristic of fire.
adjective
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(of rocks) derived by solidification of magma or molten lava emplaced on or below the earth's surface Compare sedimentary metamorphic
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of or relating to fire
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Relating to rocks or minerals formed by the cooling and hardening of magma or molten lava. Basalt and granite are examples of igneous rocks.
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Relating to the processes, such as volcanism, by which such rocks and minerals form.
Other Word Forms
- nonigneous adjective
Etymology
Origin of igneous
First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin igneus “fiery, on fire, burning,” equivalent to igni(s) “fire” + -eus -eous. Ignis is the Latin form of the Proto-Indo-European egni-s, ogni-s, one of the Proto-Indo-European words for “fire,” and it is closely related to Slavic ( Polish ) ogień (inflectional stem ogni- ) and to Sanskrit agni- Agni ( def. ); fire ( def. )
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.
Heavy rare earths are formed over millions of years, as rainfall weathers igneous rocks, breaking them down and leaving elements concentrated near the surface.
From Barron's
In the process they learned that “a mid-crust composed of fractured igneous rocks saturated with liquid water best explains the existing data.”
From Salon
"Our capability to infer that the maturation stages were somehow influenced by igneous intrusions based on a small sample size is really exciting!"
From Science Daily
One thing about the PVP that delights Coffey is that it is composed of all three kinds of rock — sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous.
From Los Angeles Times
Among the new discoveries was finding primary igneous rocks in Jezero Crater.
From Science Daily
Definitions 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.
