ionic

¹ American  

[ahy-on-ik] / aɪˈɒn ɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to ions.

2. pertaining to or occurring in the form of ions.

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Ionic ² American  

[ahy-on-ik] / aɪˈɒn ɪk /

adjective

1. Architecture. noting or pertaining to one of the five classical orders that in ancient Greece consisted of a fluted column with a molded base and a capital composed of four volutes, usually parallel to the architrave with a pulvinus connecting a pair on each side of the column, and an entablature typically consisting of an architrave of three fascias, a richly ornamented frieze, and a cornice corbeled out on egg-and-dart and dentil moldings, with the frieze sometimes omitted. Roman and Renaissance examples are often more elaborate, and usually set the volutes of the capitals at 45° to the architrave.

2. Prosody. noting or employing a foot consisting either of two long followed by two short syllables greater Ionic, or of two short followed by two long syllables lesser Ionic.

3. noting or pertaining to that variety of the eastern branch of the early Greek alphabet that was used for the writing of the Ionic dialect and that became the variety used for all dialects of Greek from the 4th century b.c. to the present.

4. of or relating to Ionia or the Ionians.

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noun

1. Prosody. an Ionic foot, verse, or meter.

2. the dialect of ancient Greek spoken in Euboea, the Cyclades, and on the mainland of Asia Minor at Miletus and elsewhere.

3. Trademark. a style of printing type.

ionic ¹ British  

/ aɪˈɒnɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or occurring in the form of ions

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Ionic ² British  

/ aɪˈɒnɪk /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or relating to one of the five classical orders of architecture, characterized by fluted columns and capitals with scroll-like ornaments See also Doric composite Tuscan Corinthian

2. of or relating to Ionia, its inhabitants, or their dialect of Ancient Greek

3. prosody of, relating to, designating, or employing Ionics in verse

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noun

1. one of four chief dialects of Ancient Greek; the dialect spoken in Ionia Compare Aeolic Arcadic Doric See also Attic

2. (in classical prosody) a type of metrical foot having either two long followed by two short syllables ( greater Ionic ), or two short followed by two long syllables ( lesser Ionic )

Ionic Cultural  

1. One of the three main styles of Greek architecture (the others are Corinthian and Doric). The Ionic column is slender and finely fluted; its capital is in the shape of a scroll.

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Other Word Forms

• non-Ionic adjective

Etymology

Origin of ionic¹

First recorded in 1885–90; ion + -ic

Origin of Ionic²

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin Iōnicus, from Greek Iōnikós “of Ionia ”; -ic

Example Sentences

Their findings show that strong low-frequency Raman intensity can act as a clear spectroscopic indicator of liquid-like ionic conduction.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026

Future work will explore other ionic materials that can achieve similar effects.

From Science Daily • Nov. 5, 2025

To make them, the researchers start with the liquid precursors of glassy polymers and mix them with an ionic liquid.

From Science Daily • Jun. 19, 2024

The researchers found that glassy gels could be made with a variety of different polymers and ionic liquids, though not all classes of polymers can be used to create glassy gels.

From Science Daily • Jun. 19, 2024

“Cool. Tell us how ionic bonds are formed and you can earn your freedom.”

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Related Words

• classic
• humanistic