molten

[ mohl-tn ]

/ ˈmoʊl tn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR molten ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

a past participle of melt¹.

adjective

liquefied by heat; in a state of fusion; melted: molten lead.

produced by melting and casting: a molten image.

RELATED WORDS

glowing, fused, igneous

Nearby words

Origin of molten

1250–1300; Middle English; old past participle of melt¹

Related formsmol·ten·ly, adverbsu·per·mol·ten, adjectiveun·mol·ten, adjective

Definition for molten (2 of 2)

melt

[ melt ]

/ mɛlt /

verb (used without object), melt·ed, melt·ed or mol·ten, melt·ing.

to become liquefied by warmth or heat, as ice, snow, butter, or metal.

to become liquid; dissolve: Let the cough drop melt in your mouth.

to pass, dwindle, or fade gradually (often followed by away): His fortune slowly melted away.

to pass, change, or blend gradually (often followed by into): Night melted into day.

to become softened in feeling by pity, sympathy, love, or the like: The tyrant's heart would not melt.

Obsolete. to be subdued or overwhelmed by sorrow, dismay, etc.

verb (used with object), melt·ed, melt·ed or mol·ten, melt·ing.

to reduce to a liquid state by warmth or heat; fuse: Fire melts ice.

to cause to pass away or fade.

to cause to pass, change, or blend gradually.

to soften in feeling, as a person or the heart.

noun

the act or process of melting; state of being melted.

something that is melted.

a quantity melted at one time.

a sandwich or other dish topped with melted cheese: a tuna melt.

Origin of melt

before 900; Middle English melten, Old English meltan (intransitive), m(i)elten (transitive) to melt, digest; cognate with Old Norse melta to digest, Greek méldein to melt

SYNONYMS FOR melt

1 Melt, dissolve, fuse, thaw imply reducing a solid substance to a liquid state. To melt is to bring a solid to a liquid condition by the agency of heat: to melt butter. Dissolve, though sometimes used interchangeably with melt, applies to a different process, depending upon the fact that certain solids, placed in certain liquids, distribute their particles throughout the liquids: A greater number of solids can be dissolved in water and in alcohol than in any other liquids. To fuse is to subject a solid (usually a metal) to a very high temperature; it applies especially to melting or blending metals together: Bell metal is made by fusing copper and tin. To thaw is to restore a frozen substance to its normal (liquid, semiliquid, or more soft and pliable) state by raising its temperature above the freezing point: Sunshine will thaw ice in a lake.

4 dwindle.

10 gentle, mollify, relax.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR melt ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

melt·a·ble, adjectivemelt·a·bil·i·ty, nounmelt·ing·ly, adverbmelt·ing·ness, noun

non·melt·a·ble, adjectivenon·melt·ing, adjectiveun·melt·a·ble, adjectiveun·melt·ed, adjectiveun·melt·ing, adjective

Can be confusedevanescence evaporation liquefaction melting thawing transpiration vaporization

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for molten

There is no better thing on a Sunday afternoon than a fruity, molten, crunchy crumble.
The Barefoot Contessa Knows How To Make Us Crumble|Ina Garten|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The moist rectangle of cooked meat and molten blob of cheese are then layered in a hard roll.
The Real Cheeseburger Paradise|Jane & Michael Stern|June 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When Earth first formed, its surface was molten, so there are no rocks for us to study from that era.
The Moon’s Been Lying About Its Age|Matthew R. Francis|June 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In another clip, an angel made from what appears to be molten lava crawls out of the earth.
The Genesis of Noah's Art Show|Alex Suskind|March 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Lest you forget our planet has a molten core, this volatile Italian isle will set you straight.
It’s a Big, Big World: Sights That Make You Feel Small|Lonely Planet|December 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Quickly, the test tube started to melt into a pool of molten glass.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, June, 1930|Various
By allowing water to run on to the surface of the molten metal, thin cakes are successively formed and taken off.
De Re Metallica|Georgius Agricola
Beyond Avignon, a luminous sweep, like a river of molten gold, defined the Rhone.
The Companions of Jehu|Alexandre Dumas, pre
A few heavy perpendicular raindrops crashed and spattered through the foliage like molten lead.
Sally Dows and Other Stories|Bret Harte
Under us, and stretching away before us, was a heaving sea of molten fire of seemingly limitless extent.
Roughing It|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

British Dictionary definitions for molten (1 of 2)

molten

/ (ˈməʊltən) /

adjective

liquefied; meltedmolten lead

made by having been meltedmolten casts

verb

the past participle of melt

British Dictionary definitions for molten (2 of 2)

melt

/ (mɛlt) /

verb melts, melting, melted, melted or molten (ˈməʊltən)

to liquefy (a solid) or (of a solid) to become liquefied, as a result of the action of heat

to become or make liquid; dissolvecakes that melt in the mouth

(often foll by away) to disappear; fade

(foll by down) to melt (metal scrap) for reuse

(often foll by into) to blend or cause to blend gradually

to make or become emotional or sentimental; soften

noun

the act or process of melting

something melted or an amount melted

Derived Forms

meltable, adjectivemeltability, nounmelter, nounmeltingly, adverb

meltingness, noun

Word Origin for melt

Old English meltan to digest; related to Old Norse melta to malt (beer), digest, Greek meldein to melt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for molten (1 of 3)

molten

adj.

late 13c., from archaic past participle of Old English meltian, a class III strong verb (see melt (v.)).

Word Origin and History for molten (1 of 3)

melt

Old English meltan "become liquid, consume by fire, burn up" (class III strong verb; past tense mealt, past participle molten), from Proto-Germanic *meltanan; fused with Old English gemæltan (Anglian), gemyltan (West Saxon) "make liquid," from Proto-Germanic *gamaltijanan (cf. Old Norse melta "to digest"), both from PIE *meldh-, (cf. Sanskrit mrduh "soft, mild," Greek meldein "to melt, make liquid," Latin mollis "soft, mild"), from root *mel- "soft," with derivatives referring to soft or softened (especially ground) materials (see mild). Figurative use by c.1200. Related: Melted; melting.

Of food, to melt in (one's) mouth is from 1690s. Melting pot is from 1540s; figurative use from 1855; popularized with reference to America by play "The Melting Pot" by Israel Zangwill (1908).

Word Origin and History for molten (2 of 3)

melt

1854, "molten metal," from melt (v.). In reference to a type of sandwich topped by melted cheese, 1980, American English.

Science definitions for molten

melt

[ mĕlt ]

To change from a solid to a liquid state by heating or being heated with sufficient energy at the melting point. See also heat of fusion.

Idioms and Phrases with molten

melt

In addition to the idiom beginning with melt

melt in one's mouth

also see:

butter wouldn't melt