inorganic

American  

[in-awr-gan-ik] / ˌɪn ɔrˈgæn ɪk /

adjective

1. not having the structure or organization characteristic of living bodies.

2. not characterized by vital processes.

3. Chemistry. noting or pertaining to compounds that are not hydrocarbons or their derivatives.

4. not fundamental or related; extraneous.

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inorganic British  

/ ˌɪnɔːˈɡænɪk /

adjective

1. not having the structure or characteristics of living organisms; not organic

2. relating to or denoting chemical compounds that do not contain carbon Compare organic

3. not having a system, structure, or ordered relation of parts; amorphous

4. not resulting from or produced by growth; artificial

5. linguistics denoting or relating to a sound or letter introduced into the pronunciation or spelling of a word at some point in its history

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inorganic Scientific  

/ ĭn′ôr-găn′ĭk /

1. Not involving organisms or the products of their life processes.

2. Relating to chemical compounds that occur mainly outside of living or once living organisms, such as those in rocks, minerals, and ceramics. Most inorganic compounds lack carbon, such as salt (NaCl) and ammonia (NH ₃); a few, such as carbon dioxide (CO ₂), do contain it, but never attached to hydrogen atoms as in hydrocarbons. Inorganic molecules tend to have a relatively small number of atoms as compared with organic molecules.

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Other Word Forms

• inorganically adverb

Etymology

Origin of inorganic

First recorded in 1785–95; in- ³ + organic

Example Sentences

Under these conditions, the particles quickly formed apatite, a mineral that closely resembles the inorganic portion of natural bone.

From Science Daily

He added that the report is stoking fears “that this is the first of many inorganic deals.”

From MarketWatch

Much of this inorganic carbon fixation is carried out by microscopic life.

From Science Daily

The nanoflowers are made from molybdenum disulfide, an inorganic compound that can form many different two-dimensional shapes at very small scales.

From Science Daily

To identify these clues, the team used high-resolution chemical techniques to break down both organic and inorganic material into molecular fragments.

From Science Daily