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nonmetallic

American  
[non-muh-tal-ik] / ˌnɒn məˈtæl ɪk /

adjective

Chemistry.
  1. of or relating to a nonmetal.

  2. not of a metallic quality.

    a nonmetallic appearance.


nonmetallic British  
/ ˌnɒnmɪˈtælɪk /

adjective

  1. not of metal

  2. of, concerned with, or being a nonmetal

"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

Etymology

Origin of nonmetallic

First recorded in 1805–15; non- + metallic

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.

The potential uses for nonmetallic dots don't just end with water treatment, though.

From Science Daily • Mar. 20, 2024

But production of wood products declined as did that of nonmetallic mineral products, fabricated metal products, and electrical equipment, appliances and components.

From Reuters • Sep. 15, 2023

Vehicles clad in these nonmetallic colors “reflect less light than we’ve become accustomed to seeing over the past several flake-heavy decades, and so they assume a greater visual density than their flaked-out counterparts,” Weiner wrote.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2023

When a ferrite—a nonmetallic material with magnetic properties—is subject to a constant magnetic field, its molecules sustain tiny circulating currents that rotate with a handedness determined by the magnetic field orientation.

From Scientific American • Nov. 18, 2022

The insosuit was far bulkier and far uglier than the regulation spacesuit; but withal considerably lighter, due to the fact that they were entirely nonmetallic in composition.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

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