deliquescence means the condition of being deliquescent. It carries an Arena rating of 1617, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, deliquescence ranks #1,704 of 17,114 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,531 of 17,118 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,835 of 17,120 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,895 of 17,118 for Scariest Words.
Why “deliquescence” is a great word
The physical process wherein a solid substance absorbs moisture from the air until it dissolves into a solution. From Latin *deliquescentia*, from *deliquescere*, meaning 'to melt away', from *de-* (down, away) + *liquescere* (to become liquid); first recorded in English in 1743. Unlike 'liquefaction' (a general melting, often by heat) or 'efflorescence' (a drying out, a release of moisture), deliquescence is a passive, thirsty consumption of the ambient world. It is the salt block weeping into a puddle on a humid night, the powdered reagent turning to a slick film in its jar, the ancient manuscript slowly weeping into illegibility—a quiet testament to matter's porous boundary and the inevitable surrender of form to fluidity.
noun
- The condition of being deliquescent.
- The action or process of deliquescing.e.g.““The rococo is the final deliquescence of the baroque,” he said, as if he really couldn’t be plainer.”
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