semipermeable

[ sem-ee-pur-mee-uh-buhl, sem-ahy- ]

/ ˌsɛm iˈpɜr mi ə bəl, ˌsɛm aɪ- /

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adjective

permeable only to certain small molecules: a semipermeable membrane.

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Origin of semipermeable

First recorded in 1895–1900; semi- + permeable

OTHER WORDS FROM semipermeable

sem·i·per·me·a·bil·i·ty, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use semipermeable in a sentence

Here they are semi-touching at a grocery store; she likes kombucha.
All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt|Melissa Leon|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Brinsley stepped up to the passenger side of the patrol car, raised a silver Taurus semi-automatic pistol and began firing.
'Please Don't Die!': The Frantic Battle to Save Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tiger Lily and her tribe, however, were outfitted in semi-realistic outfits (read: nearly naked).
‘Peter Pan Live!’ Review: No Amount of Clapping Brings It to Life|Kevin Fallon|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For the next hour and half I was the willing sex slave of a semi-professional Master I had met through a friend.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix|Justin Jones|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

After curing the elderly of their semi-suicidal depression, winning the White House must seem like a snap.
Ben Carson’s Bizarrely Serious, Seriously Bizarre Campaign Crew|Olivia Nuzzi|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Our troops have done all that flesh and blood can do against semi-permanent works, and they are not able to carry them.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
The stop-keys will be seen arranged in an inclined semi-circle overhanging and just above the keyboards.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
There are four types: bituminous (soft), anthracite (hard), semi-bituminous and semi-anthracite.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
There were semi-savage native chiefs, and there were others, like Aguinaldo himself, with humane instincts.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
The brilliant light of a policeman's torch sliced through the semi-darkness and spotted him.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various

British Dictionary definitions for semipermeable

semipermeable

/ (ˌsɛmɪˈpɜːmɪəbəl) /

adjective

(esp of a cell membrane) selectively permeable

Derived forms of semipermeable

semipermeability, noun

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

Medical definitions for semipermeable

semipermeable

[ sĕm′ē-pûr′mē-ə-bəl, sĕm′ī- ]

adj.

Partially permeable.

Allowing passage of certain, especially small, molecules or ions but acting as a barrier to others. Used of biological and synthetic membranes.