molten
/'moultən/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Liquefied by heat: Describes a solid material, typically a metal or rock, that has been heated to such a high temperature that it has melted and become a flowing liquid.
- Made by melting and casting: Describes an object that has been formed by pouring a liquefied material into a mold.
Usage
- The adjective molten is used almost exclusively to describe materials that are liquid due to extreme heat, especially in industrial, geological, or metallurgical contexts.
- It is typically used attributively (before a noun) and is not commonly used predicatively (after a linking verb like "is" or "was").
- Correct: "molten lava," "molten steel."
- Less Common: "The steel was molten." (More common: "The steel was in a molten state" or "The steel had melted.")
Examples
- Attributive Use:
- The volcano spewed molten rock and ash into the sky.
- Workers poured the molten iron into casts to make engine blocks.
- The intense heat of the forge turned the metal into a molten pool.
Advanced Usage
- "molten state": A formal phrase describing the condition of being melted.
- The glass must be kept in a molten state during the blowing process.
- Figurative Use: Occasionally used in literature or descriptive writing to evoke intense heat, fluidity, or passion.
- His molten anger was evident in his eyes. (This is a metaphorical extension, comparing anger to a hot, flowing liquid.)
Variants and Related Words
- Melt (verb): To change from a solid to a liquid state, usually through heat.
- The ice will melt in the sun.
- Molten (verb, archaic): An old past participle of "melt." This form is obsolete in modern English.
- Molten (adjective, in compound terms): Used in specific technical terms.
- molten-salt reactor (a type of nuclear reactor)
Synonyms
- Liquefied: Made liquid, though not necessarily by heat (e.g., by pressure).
- Melted: Changed from solid to liquid by heat. ("Melted" is more general and common; "molten" implies a higher, often industrial or geological, temperature.)
- Fused: Melted together.
- Fluid: A substance that flows, which can include liquids and gases.
Antonyms
- Solid: Firm and stable in shape.
- Frozen: Turned into ice or another solid.
- Congeaed: Changed from a liquid to a semi-solid or solid state.
Adjective
- reduced to liquid form by heating
- a mass of molten rock