unvulcanized
- adjective
- /ˌʌnˈvʌlkənaɪzd/
- Specialized
- When repairing tires, it is common to use patches made from unvulcanized rubber.
- unvulcanized rubber
- unvulcanized rubber compound
Examples
-
Unvulcanized rubber is often softer and more flexible than its vulcanized counterpart.
-
The articulated skeletal elements of each design were painted with vulcanizing cement and then covered with a layer of black unvulcanized rubber compound.
Academic text (1990) -
The factory produces various types of unvulcanized rubber for different industrial applications.
Antonyms
- Specialized
Rubber treated with heat and chemicals to make it harder, stronger, and more elastic
Surface Forms
Morphology
unvulcanized = vulcanized (transparent) = un + vulcanize + ed
Formed by adding the negative prefix 'un-' to the adjective 'vulcanized' (from the verb 'vulcanize'), so the meaning 'not vulcanized' is directly derivable.
Etymology
Unvulcanized is built from un- meaning 'not' and Vulcan, the Roman god of fire; to vulcanize rubber means to heat it with chemicals so it becomes hard and strong. So, unvulcanized rubber is rubber 'not' treated this way, and it stays soft and sticky.