-kinetic
1 Americanadjective
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pertaining to motion.
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caused by motion.
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characterized by movement.
Running and dancing are kinetic activities.
adjective
Usage
What does -kinetic mean? The combining form -kinetic is used like a suffix meaning “of or relating to movement.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in pathology.The form -kinetic comes from Greek kīnēt(ós), meaning “moving,” from the verb kīneîn, “to move.” The Latin cognate of kīneîn is ciēre (stem cit-), meaning “to move, set in motion,” which is the source of words such as cite and resuscitate. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.What are variants of -kinetic?While there are not any variants of -kinetic, it is related to the forms -kinesis and -kinesia, as in telekinesis and hyperkinesia. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles about these two forms.
Other Word Forms
- kinetically adverb
- nonkinetic adjective
Etymology
Origin of -kinetic1
< Greek kīnēt ( ós ) ( kineto- ) + -ic
Origin of kinetic1
1850–55; < Greek kīnētikós moving, equivalent to kīnē- (verbid stem of kīneîn to move) + -tikos -tic
Compare meaning
How does kinetic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
While Mann’s doomed meathead is only in the movie to raise the body count, the young actor brings a goofy, kinetic charisma to his too-few scenes — and, as a reward, Roberts grants him the longest and best death.
From Los Angeles Times
The system's kinetic energy stopped increasing and leveled off.
From Science Daily
Their momentum spread out again, kinetic energy increased rapidly, and the system resumed absorbing energy without limit.
From Science Daily
"If you look at what the defence sector does, a very small proportion is making a kinetic thing that blows up," says Colin Hillier CEO of Mission Decisions, which develops AI and machine-learning technology for the defence sector.
From BBC
By combining kinetic modeling with fluorescence spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and infrared analysis, the team showed that each plastic type releases its own unique chemical mixture.
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.
