unabsorbable
- adjective
- /ˌʌnəbˈzɔːrbəbl/
- Some minerals are unabsorbable by the human digestive system and pass through unchanged.
Examples
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Doctors use unabsorbable sutures for wounds that need long-term support.
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The plastic coating makes the surface unabsorbable to water and stains.
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This fabric is unabsorbable for liquids.
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The coating on the tiles is unabsorbable.
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Many vitamins in heavily processed foods are unabsorbable, reducing their nutritional value.
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Certain synthetic materials are unabsorbable by the environment, leading to pollution.
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Some types of plastics are unabsorbable, causing them to persist in landfills for decades.
Synonyms
Not able to be taken in by the body or by materials
Not able to take in liquids or other materials
A material that does not soak up liquids
Not able to be absorbed or used by living things
Antonyms
How Absorbent
Surface Forms
Morphology
unabsorbable = absorbable (transparent) = un + absorb + able
Built by prefixing 'un-' to 'absorbable' (absorb + -able); the physical sense of 'not able to be absorbed' is directly compositional.
Etymology
Unabsorbable is formed from un- 'not' and absorb 'to soak up'. So it describes a material or stitch that will not soak up water or body fluids, like a plastic surface or a permanent stitch used in medicine.