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Glite Dictionary
☢️ Can split in reactors 🪨 Easily split
fissile

fissile

8.6
Easy to split into thin flat layers along natural lines
  • adjective
  • /ˈfɪsəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : fisible
  • Shale, from an Old Norse word for "scale," is a fissile, laminated argillaceous mudstone (first defined technically in 1757).

Examples

  • The geologist discovered that the rock was fissile, allowing it to be split easily for testing.

  • Carefully split the fissile crystal along its natural planes to reveal its beautiful inner structure.

  • The male and female cults reflected this fissile sociology, spartan upbringing, and agonistic ethos.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The wood used for the sculpture was notably fissile, making it simple to shape and carve.

Antonyms

indivisible
14 5.8

Cannot be split into parts

How Easy

fissile
  • Specialized
8.6
cleavable
  • Specialized
7.6

Surface Forms

fissile positive

Morphology

fissile = fission (semi-transparent) = fiss + ile

The adjective is built from the Latin stem fiss- 'split' plus '-ile'; the literal sense 'able to be split along planes' aligns with the components, but the combining stem is not a common standalone English word.

Etymology

The word fissile comes from the Latin root fiss- meaning 'to split', the same root used in fissure, which means 'a crack'. So, fissile describes materials that easily split along natural layers or cracks.