noun · 2 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.
US:/ˌfɛɹoʊˈmæɡnɪtɪzm/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:F EH2 R OW0 M AE1 G N AH0 T IH2 Z AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets when subjected to a magnetic field.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
phenomenon exhibited by materials like iron (nickel or cobalt) that become magnetized in a magnetic field and retain their magnetism when the field is removed
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: magnetism, magnetic attraction, magnetic force
History
Etymology
Etymology tree substratebor. Old Latin *fersom Latin ferrum English ferro- Old French magnetebor. Pre-Greekbor.? Ancient Greek Μάγνης (Mágnēs) Ancient Greek μᾰ́γνης (mắgnēs)bor. Latin magnēsbor. Middle English magnete English magnet Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English magnetism English ferromagnetism From ferro- + magnetism.
Across languages
Translations
20 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Basque:
ferromagnetismo
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Catalan:
ferromagnetisme
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Chinese Mandarin:
鐵磁性 /铁磁性
(tiěcíxìng)
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Czech:
feromagnetismus
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Dutch:
ferromagnetisme
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Finnish:
ferromagnetismi
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
French:
ferromagnétisme
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
German:
Ferromagnetismus
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Hebrew:
פרומגנטיות
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Hungarian:
ferromágnesesség
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Italian:
ferromagnetismo
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Japanese:
強磁性
(kyōjisei)
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Korean:
강자성
(gangjaseong)
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Polish:
ferromagnetyzm
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Portuguese:
ferromagnetismo
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Romanian:
feromagnetism
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Russian:
ферромагнети́зм
(ferromagnetízm)
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Spanish:
ferromagnetismo
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Swedish:
ferromagnetism
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
Vietnamese:
sắt từ
— the phenomenon whereby certain substances can become permanent magnets
