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erosive

erosive

1 6.4
A thing that slowly wears something away by wind, water, or chemicals
  • adjective
  • /ɪˈroʊsɪv/
translation icon : erosivo
  • The abiotic effects of flooding, and especially the corresponding erosive forces, are exacerbated in the presence of different types of river ice that confine and divert the flow and constitute direct scouring agents themselves.
  • erosive action
  • erosive force
  • erosive power

Were it not for our atmosphere and our weather and other erosive corrosive forces, we would look just like the moon.

Examples

  • The new inlets widen and shift, yielding to the erosive force of tide and wind.

    Academic text (1990)
  • As a coastline accretes, mangroves invade the new soil and hold it against the erosive action of wind, wave, current, and tide.

    Academic text (1990)
  • But the ones on the moon survive because the moon does not have many erosive agents, and the ones on the Earth disappear.

  • Were it not for our atmosphere and our weather and other erosive corrosive forces, we would look just like the moon.

  • Produced at high temperatures and pressures, it is both highly corrosive and erosive.

    Academic text (2005)
  • A thick blanket of crimson clover now covers the rich soil to protect it from the erosive forces of falling raindrops.

    Blog text (30)
  • "We are conducting experiments on two farms in Minnesota and South Dakota to find ways to manage this land so that it doesn't revert to the erosive conditions that existed before it was put into the CRP," says Voorhees.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Water flowing over rocks can be a strong erosive force that shapes the landscape over time.

  • The erosive effects of acid rain can damage buildings and monuments if left untreated.

  • Wind is often considered an erosive agent, wearing away soil and rock in dry areas.

Synonyms

corrosive
vserosive
  • Specialized
14 6.6

Able to eat away materials by a chemical reaction, for example strong acids

is broader, covering slow wearing from natural forces or friction
caustic
vserosive
  • Specialized
8 7.6

Able to burn or damage skin

is about slow surface wearing of many materials rather than burning tissue
disintegrative
vserosive
1 8.7

Causing things to break into smaller parts

is focused on slow surface loss rather than sudden breaking into parts
mordant
vserosive
  • Specialized
9.9

Able to eat away materials by chemical action like a strong acid

is broader and focuses on gradual wearing from many causes not only acids
vitriolic
vserosive
  • Specialized
9.6

A very strong acid that can burn skin and metal

is milder, referring to slow wearing by natural or mechanical action
degradative
vserosive
  • Specialized
8.3

Causing materials to break down into smaller parts

is more about physical gradual wearing away by forces or friction

Antonyms

163 2.4

Made to keep a person or thing safe from harm

How Erosive

caustic
  • Specialized
8 7.6
corrosive
  • Specialized
14 6.6
erosive
1 6.4
abrasive
6 4.8

Surface Forms

erosive positive

Morphology

erosive = erosion (transparent) = erosion + ive

Formed from the noun 'erosion' plus the adjectival suffix '-ive'; the meaning 'causing or relating to erosion' is directly predictable.

Etymology

The word erosive comes from Latin parts e- ('away') and rodere ('to gnaw'), so it means 'to gnaw away'. Picture a mouse or slow rain chewing at rock or metal; that's why erosive describes something that slowly wears things down.