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quartzite

quartzite

1 8.8
A hard rock that forms when sandstone changes under heat and pressure
  • noun
  • /ˈkwɔrˌzaɪt/
  • Specialized
: cuarcita
  • Not until she'd exhausted herself had she finally dropped the quartzite cobble.
  • quartzite rock
  • quartzite cobble
  • fine quartzite

Imagine that in her eyes they made out of quartzite and gold and fool's gold and shale.

Examples

  • As she walked, she searched the ground and found a quartzite cobble of just the right size.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • We actually have a quartzite fireplace over here.

  • I saw quartzite cobbles in the river.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • At abyssal depths, Earth's weight presses out their water; heat and pressure burst their molecules, and sandstone changes into quartzite.

    Academic text (1998)
  • He mandated that each 32-kilo slab be a 50-by-50-centimeter, handcrafted piece of quartzite.

    Academic text (2012)
  • It keeps the form of quartzite—that milky gray mineral—to very great depths, where at last the quartzite melts and mixes in magma.

    Academic text (1998)
  • The Sioux quartzite used in the buildings gives them a unique and sturdy appearance.

  • During the hike, I noticed the sharp edges of the quartzite scattered among the rocks.

  • The geologist explained that quartzite is formed under extreme heat and pressure from sandstone.

Synonyms

rock
vsquartzite
∞ 1.0

Hard natural stone that you find on the ground or underground

is formed from sandstone under heat and pressure and rich in quartz crystals
stone
vsquartzite
976 1.0

A hard natural rock used for building or a small piece of it

is a hard metamorphic rock composed mainly of interlocking quartz crystals
metamorphic rock
vsquartzite
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A rock changed by heat and pressure inside the earth

is specifically made mostly of interlocking quartz crystals from sandstone

How Hard

granite
64 3.5
quartzite
  • Specialized
1 8.8
sandstone
  • Specialized
18 3.3
shale
  • Specialized
57 5.7

Surface Forms

quartzite singular
quartzites plural

Morphology

quartzite = quartz (transparent) = quartz + ite

Formed by the noun 'quartz' plus the mineral-forming suffix '-ite', meaning a rock composed mainly of quartz.

Etymology

Quartzite comes from the mineral quartz and the ending -ite, which is used for rocks and minerals, so it can be remembered as the 'rock of quartz'. That's why quartzite refers to a very hard rock made mostly of quartz.