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Glite Dictionary
💧 Holding liquid 🧠 Remembering well 📦 Keeping things
retentivity

retentivity

8.9
The ability of a material to hold water or other liquids
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : retentividad
  • In construction, materials with good retentivity can help maintain moisture levels in soil for plant growth.

Examples

  • The retentivity of activated carbon for H2S can be increased substantially by impregnating the carbon with either KOH or NaOH.

    Academic text (1996)

  • For removing H2S from gas streams, activated carbon is the preferred adsorbent due to its high retentivity for H2S.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Activated carbon's high retentivity allows it to effectively absorb pollutants from the air.

  • The engineer explained how the retentivity of certain materials contributes to their ability to store rainwater.

Synonyms

retention
vsretentivity
  • Specialized
9 4.8

Ability of a material like cloth or soil to hold liquid

is identical in meaning but uses a different technical term
absorbency
vsretentivity
3 4.8

The amount of liquid a material soaks up

emphasizes keeping liquid inside rather than the initial soaking action
retentiveness
vsretentivity
7.9

How well soil holds water

focuses specifically on holding liquid rather than other items

How Retentive

impermeability
  • Specialized
8.3
retentivity
  • Specialized
8.9
absorbency
3 4.8
porosity
  • Specialized
1 7.7
leakiness
1 5.1

Surface Forms

retentivity singular
retentivities plural

Morphology

retentivity = retentive (transparent) = retain + ivity

The noun 'retentivity' is transparently formed from the adjective 'retentive' using the suffix '-ity' to denote a state or quality.

Etymology

Retentivity comes from the Latin parts re- 'back' and tenere 'to hold', the same root you see in retain. So for materials, it means the power to 'hold' liquid inside, like soil or cloth.