Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Completely sealed; completely airtight: Describes something that is perfectly closed off from the outside environment, preventing the passage of air or other substances.
   • Relating to an ancient occult tradition: Pertaining to the mystical and alchemical teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, often involving secrecy or esoteric knowledge.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Sealed):
  • The food is preserved in a hermetic container to ensure freshness.
  • A hermetic seal on the laboratory chamber is essential for the experiment.
• Adjective (Esoteric):
  • The manuscript contained hermetic teachings known only to a few initiates.
  • His poetry is often criticized for being too hermetic and difficult to understand.

Advanced Usage

• "Hermetically sealed": A common adverbial phrase meaning sealed in an airtight manner.
  • The electronic components are stored in a hermetically sealed package to prevent moisture damage.
• Used figuratively to describe something extremely private, secretive, or self-contained.
  • The author lived a hermetic life, cut off from the literary world.

Variants and Related Words

• Hermetically (adverb): In an airtight manner.
  • The jar was hermetically closed.
• Hermeticism (noun): A philosophical and esoteric tradition based on writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus.
  • The study of Renaissance Hermeticism reveals its influence on science and magic.

Synonyms

• Airtight: Impermeable to air.
• Sealed: Closed securely.
• Esoteric: Intended for or understood by only a small group with specialized knowledge.

Related Phrases

• Hermetic seal: A technical term for an airtight seal.
  • The success of the vacuum system depends on a perfect hermetic seal.

Related Idioms

• Hermetic circle: A group that is isolated or exclusive, often intellectually.
  • The debate was confined to a hermetic circle of specialists.

Adjective

1. completely sealed; completely airtight