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permittivity

[pur-mi-tiv-i-tee]
noun, plural per·mit·tiv·i·ties.
  1. Electricity. the ratio of the flux density produced by an electric field in a given dielectric to the flux density produced by that field in a vacuum.
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Origin of permittivity

First recorded in 1885–90; permit1 + -ive + -ity
Also called dielectric constant, relative permittivity, specific inductive capacity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for relative permittivity

relative permittivity

noun
  1. the ratio of the permittivity of a substance to that of free spaceSymbol: ε r Also called: dielectric constant
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permittivity

noun plural -ties
  1. a measure of the response of a substance to an electric field, expressed as the ratio of its electric displacement to the applied field strength; measured in farads per metreSymbol: ε See also relative permittivity, electric constant
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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
relative permittivity in Science

relative permittivity

  1. The ratio of the magnetic permittivity of a substance to the permittivity of a vacuum.
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permittivity

[pûr′mĭ-tĭv′ĭ-tē]
  1. A measure of the ability of a material to resist the formation of an electric field within it, equal to the ratio between the electric flux density and the electric field strength generated by an electric charge in the material.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.