inorganic

[in-awr-gan-ik]

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.

inorganic

/ 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

inorganic

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.

Other Word Forms

• inorganically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of inorganic¹

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

Example Sentences

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

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Earlier this week, Sheinbaum questioned the motivations for the demonstration and said at her regular morning news conference that the protest was "inorganic" and "paid for."

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Earlier this week, Sheinbaum questioned the motivations for the demonstration and said at her regular morning press conference that the protest call was "inorganic" and "paid for."

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Initiating coverage of the stock with a buy rating, UBS analysts tell clients in a note that Navigator has clearly articulated its inorganic strategy, which entails taking minority equity stakes in global partner firms.

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He continued, "The findings demonstrate that the interplay among inorganic and organic compounds played crucial roles in Earth's environmental changes, deepening our understanding of the evolution of Earth's oxygen and hence the life on it."

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