permeance
Americannoun
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the act of permeating.
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the conducting power of a magnetic circuit for magnetic flux; the reciprocal of magnetic reluctance.
noun
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the act of permeating
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Λ. the reciprocal of the reluctance of a magnetic circuit
Usage
What does permeance mean? Permeance is the act or process of permeating—penetrating, passing through, and often becoming widespread throughout something. Permeance can also refer to the result of this, or to the level of permeability. Permeance is typically used to mean the same thing as permeation, which is much more commonly used. Because permeance is rarely used, autocorrect might think you mean permanence. The word permeance can be used both in the context of the physical spread of something within a space and in more figurative ways, such as the permeance of water into the soil, the permeance of a smell throughout a room, or the permeance of an idea in someone’s mind. The related adjective permeant describes something, such as a liquid or gas, that has penetrated or has the ability to penetrate something else. Example: This material has a special coating that won’t allow any permeance of liquids into its surface.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of permeance
First recorded in 1835–45; perme(ant) + -ance
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.
Nature is not a fixed permeance that we are, as he says, “damaging.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
When it comes to its permeance in our everyday lives, “technology is maybe the smallest part in the equation,” Times columnist Brian Merchant says.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2023
Whatever her worries, they are easily eclipsed by the realities of a robust housing market and the seeming permeance of the takeout margarita.
From New York Times • Jun. 4, 2021
The permeance and separation factors obtained are considerably higher than those of membranes made from exfoliated nanosheets28.
From Nature • Mar. 14, 2017
Xylene isomer vapour permeance measurements were conducted in the Wicke–Kallenbach mode, in which total pressures of feed and permeate are maintained at atmospheric pressure47.
From Nature • Mar. 14, 2017
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.
