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Glite Dictionary
✨ Partly shiny ⚙️ Partly metal
semimetallic

semimetallic

7.0
Having qualities partly like metals and partly like nonmetals
  • adjective
  • /ˌsɛmɪmɛˈtælɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : semimetálico
  • Some elements, like silicon, are considered semimetallic because they share properties with both metals and nonmetals.

Examples

  • The semimetallic coating provides a balance between strength and flexibility in the finished product.

  • The engineer recommended using semimetallic brake pads for improved durability and performance.

  • The new alloy has a semimetallic structure.

  • Is this material semimetallic or purely metallic?

  • Semimetallic materials are often used in electronics due to their unique conductivity.

  • Many semimetallic elements, like arsenic, display characteristics of both metals and nonmetals.

  • The scientist explained how semimetallic compounds can behave like metals under certain conditions.

Synonyms

metalloid
vssemimetallic
  • Specialized
7.9

An element with some properties of metals and some of nonmetals

is used more broadly and not limited to chemical elements

How Metallic

metallic
85 4.3
semimetallic
  • Specialized
7.0
nonmetallic
1 5.2

Surface Forms

semimetallic positive

Morphology

semimetallic = metallic (transparent) = semi + metal + ic

This sense is also a direct compositional use of semi- + metallic, giving the meaning 'partly metallic'.

Etymology

Semimetallic comes from the prefix semi- 'partly' and metallic from metal 'a shiny, hard material'. So in science it means something has some properties of a metal and some of a nonmetal 'not metal'.