unmineralized
- adjective
- /ˌʌnˈmɪnərlaɪzd/
- Specialized
:
no mineralizado
- In the lab, they studied unmineralized samples to understand their properties better.
Examples
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The dentist explained that the unmineralized tissue in her teeth was causing decay.
-
This results in softening of bone secondary to the ostia (unmineralized bone matrix) failing to harden or ossify.
Academic text (2003) -
The archaeologist found unmineralized remains in the ancient burial site, which helped date the artifacts.
How Mineralized
Surface Forms
Morphology
unmineralized = mineralized (transparent) = un + mineral + ize + ed
Formed by adding the productive negative prefix 'un-' to 'mineralized', yielding a straightforward opposite meaning.
Etymology
The word unmineralized breaks into un- meaning 'not' and mineralize meaning 'to add minerals' or 'to turn into a mineral'. So unmineralized describes something that 'does not have minerals' or 'has not been turned into a mineral', like soft bone or water without dissolved minerals.