reticulate

/ri'tikjulit/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
reticulate

The leaf's reticulate veins form a delicate pattern.

Definition
  1. Adjective:

    • Resembling or forming a network: Having a pattern or structure that looks like a net or web, with lines crossing each other.
    • Characterized by a network: Composed of or marked by interconnected lines or channels.
  2. Verb:

    • To divide or mark so as to form a network: To create a pattern of crossing lines.
    • To distribute by or as if by a network: To send or supply something through an interconnected system.
    • To form a net or network: To become arranged in a net-like structure.
Usage Examples
  • Adjective:

    • The leaf had a beautiful reticulate pattern of veins.
    • The geologist studied the reticulate system of cracks in the rock.
  • Verb:

    • The artist used a fine pen to reticulate the surface of the drawing.
    • The utility company works to reticulate electricity to rural areas.
    • Over time, the roots began to reticulate, forming a dense mat.
Advanced Usage
  • "Reticulate evolution": In biology, a pattern of evolution where lineages split and merge again, forming a network rather than a simple tree.

    • The study of horizontal gene transfer often reveals reticulate evolution in bacteria.
  • "Reticulate venation": A specific term in botany describing the net-like pattern of veins in a leaf.

    • Maple leaves are a classic example of leaves with reticulate venation.
Variants and Related Words
  • Reticulated (adj): Often used interchangeably with "reticulate," especially to describe something made into a network (e.g., ).
  • Reticulation (n): The act or process of forming a network; the resulting network pattern.
    • The reticulation of the irrigation system was highly efficient.
Synonyms
  • Adjective: Netlike, webbed, meshed, latticed, interconnected.
  • Verb: Network, interlace, interconnect, mesh, web.
Antonyms
  • Adjective: Simple, linear, unbranched, solid.
  • Verb: Simplify, straighten, disconnect.
Related Phrases
  • "To become reticulated": To develop into a network form.
    • The clay cracked and became reticulated as it dried in the sun.
reticulate

The leaf's reticulate veins form a delicate pattern.

Adjective
  1. resembling or forming a network
    • the reticulate veins of a leaf
    • a reticulated highway system
Verb
  1. divide so as to form a network
  2. distribute by a network, as of water or electricity
  3. form a net or a network