argillaceous

1 9.9

A rock or soil that contains a lot of clay

adjective
/ˌɑrɡɪˈleɪʃəs/

Specialized

: arcilloso

Farmers often avoid planting in argillaceous soil because it tends to retain too much water.

Examples

The construction workers found that the argillaceous soil made digging more difficult.
The geologist identified the argillaceous rock as an important indicator of the area's sedimentary history.
Shale, from an Old Norse word for "scale," is a fissile, laminated argillaceous mudstone (first defined technically in 1757).

Blog text (18)

Synonyms

claylike

vsargillaceous

1 3.4

Having a soft sticky texture like wet clay

is the precise scientific label focusing on actual composition

clayey

vsargillaceous

1 6.8

Soil that is thick and sticky because it contains a lot of clay

is the scientific formal term for the same property

clayish

vsargillaceous

1 4.4

Has the feel of heavy, sticky soil that becomes soft when wet and is used to make pots

is the formal scientific term rather than a casual descriptor

Antonyms

arenaceous

Specialized

9.9

Soil or plants that have a lot of sand and grow in sandy places

Compounds

argillaceous rock

Specialized

9.8

A rock made mainly of clay that forms in layers

How Clayey

clayey

1 6.8

argillaceous

Specialized

1 9.9

loamy

2 6.0

sandy

39 1.0

Surface Forms

argillaceous positive

Morphology

argillaceous = argil (semi-transparent) = argill + aceous

The word is regularly formed from the rare noun argil plus the adjective-forming suffix -aceous, but the technical register and Latinized spelling make it less immediately guessable.

Etymology

Argillaceous comes from the Latin argilla, meaning 'clay', and the ending -aceous, meaning 'made of' or 'like'. So it describes rocks or soils that are 'clay-like' or that contain clay.