noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈɛntɹəpi/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:EH1 N T R AH0 P IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A measure of the disorder present in a system.
A measure of the disorder directly proportional to the natural logarithm of the number of microstates yielding an equivalent thermodynamic macrostate.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Qualifier: Boltzmann definition
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A measure of the disorder present in a system.
Shannon entropy
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
The tendency of a system that is left to itself to descend into chaos.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
(thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
entropy increases as matter and energy in the universe degrade to an ultimate state of inert uniformity
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: randomness, S
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: physical property
Narrower terms: conformational entropy
9
noun
Meaning 9
(communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the signal contained thousands of bits of information
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: information, selective information
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: information measure
History
Etymology
First attested in 1867, as the translation of German Entropie, coined in 1865 by Rudolph Clausius in analogy to Energie (“energy”), replacing the root of Ancient Greek ἔργον (érgon, “work”) by Ancient Greek τροπή (tropḗ, “transformation”)).
Across languages
Translations
64 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Basque:
entropia
— term in thermodynamics
Bengali:
এনট্রপি
(enṭropi)
— term in thermodynamics
Bulgarian:
ентро́пия
(entrópija)
— term in thermodynamics
Catalan:
entropia
— term in thermodynamics
Chinese Mandarin:
熵
(shāng)
— term in thermodynamics
Czech:
entropie
— term in thermodynamics
Danish:
entropi
— term in thermodynamics
Dutch:
entropie
— term in thermodynamics
Esperanto:
entropio
— term in thermodynamics
Finnish:
entropia
— term in thermodynamics
French:
entropie
— term in thermodynamics
German:
Entropie
— term in thermodynamics
Greek:
εντροπία
(entropía)
— term in thermodynamics
Icelandic:
óreiða
— term in thermodynamics
Irish:
eantrópacht
— term in thermodynamics
Italian:
entropia
— term in thermodynamics
Japanese:
エントロピー
(entoropī)
— term in thermodynamics
Khmer:
អង់ត្រូពី
(ʼɑngtroupii)
— term in thermodynamics
Korean:
엔트로피
(enteuropi)
— term in thermodynamics
Latin:
entropia
— term in thermodynamics
Māori:
pūngao ngoikore
— term in thermodynamics
Māori:
kaumingomingo
— term in thermodynamics
Occitan:
entropia
— term in thermodynamics
Persian:
آنتروپی
— term in thermodynamics
Polish:
entropia
— term in thermodynamics
Portuguese:
entropia
— term in thermodynamics
Romanian:
entropie
— term in thermodynamics
Russian:
энтропи́я
(entropíja)
— term in thermodynamics
Spanish:
entropía
— term in thermodynamics
Tagalog:
malikusog
— term in thermodynamics
Tamil:
சிதறம்
(citaṟam)
— term in thermodynamics
Thai:
เอนโทรปี
(een-troo-bpii)
— term in thermodynamics
Turkish:
entropi
— term in thermodynamics
Ukrainian:
ентропі́я
(entropíja)
— term in thermodynamics
Welsh:
entropi
— term in thermodynamics
Bulgarian:
ентро́пия
(entrópija)
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Chinese Mandarin:
熵
(shāng)
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Esperanto:
entropio
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Finnish:
entropia
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
German:
Entropie
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Greek:
εντροπία
(entropía)
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Italian:
entropia
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Japanese:
エントロピー
(entoropī)
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Polish:
entropia
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Portuguese:
entropia
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Romanian:
entropie
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Russian:
энтропи́я
(entropíja)
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Spanish:
entropía
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Thai:
เอนโทรปี
(een-troo-bpii)
— measure of the amount of information in a signal
Bulgarian:
ентро́пия
(entrópija)
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Chinese Mandarin:
熵
(shāng)
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Danish:
entropi
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Finnish:
entropia
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
German:
Entropie
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Greek:
εντροπία
(entropía)
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Italian:
entropia
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Latin:
entropia
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Polish:
entropia
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Portuguese:
entropia
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Romanian:
entropie
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Russian:
энтропи́я
(entropíja)
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Spanish:
entropía
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Thai:
เอนโทรปี
(een-troo-bpii)
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Ukrainian:
ентропі́я
(entropíja)
— tendency of a system to descend into chaos
