phreatic
Americanadjective
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noting or pertaining to groundwater.
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noting or pertaining to explosive volcanic activity involving steam derived from groundwater.
a phreatic explosion.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of phreatic
First recorded in 1890–95; from Greek phreat- (stem of phréar ) “artificial well” + -ic
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.
Outside the permanent danger zone, the volcanology institute warned people including those living on the vulnerable southeastern side of the volcano to stay alert “due to the increased possibilities of sudden and hazardous phreatic eruptions.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2022
Dominica last suffered major phreatic or steam-drive volcanic eruptions in 1997, and before that in 1880.
From Reuters ● Sep. 18, 2020
There haven't been any large eruptions at White Island Volcano since the deadly phreatic eruption on December 9th, 2019.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 25, 2020
"It's possible that there's no magma involved, that it's just a phreatic eruption - a steam eruption. We don't know yet."
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2019
Those phreatic eruptions had a recognizable character to the geologists avidly studying them.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 7, 2012
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.
