Standard Lemma guide

petrochemical

adj · noun · 4 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

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  • CMU ARPABET: P EH2 T R OW0 K EH1 M IH0 K AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any chemical derived from petroleum.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, geography, geology, natural-sciences, petrochemistry, petrology, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Any chemical derived from any of the fossil fuels: petroleum, natural gas, or coal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, geography, geology, natural-sciences, petrochemistry, petrology, physical-sciences

Examples

  • As the prices of petroleum, natural gas, and coal fluctuate over the years, the petrochemical industry can to some extent switch feedstocks.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

any compound obtained from petroleum or natural gas

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: organic compound

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek πέτρᾱ (pétrā)bor. Latin petrader. English petro- Proto-Indo-European *ǵhew- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek χῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh2 Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā)bor. Arabic الْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ)bor. Medieval Latin alchēmia ▲ Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā)influ. New Latin chēmia Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus New Latin chēmicus English -al English chemical English petrochemical From petro- + chemical.

Across languages

Translations

28 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: petroquímic — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Dutch: petrochemisch — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Esperanto: petrolĥemia — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Esperanto: petrolkemia — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Finnish: petrokemiallinen — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • French: pétrochimique — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • German: gesteinschemisch — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Irish: peitriceimiceach — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Italian: petrolchimico — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Japanese: 石油化学の (sekiyu-kagaku no) — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Korean: 석유 화학의 (seogyu hwahagui) — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Norwegian Bokmål: petrokjemisk — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: petrokjemisk — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Polish: petrochemiczny — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Portuguese: petroquímico — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Romanian: petrochimic — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Romanian: petrochimică — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Russian: нефтехими́ческий (nefteximíčeskij) — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Serbo-Croatian: петроке́мӣјскӣ — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Serbo-Croatian: petrokémījskī — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Spanish: petroquímico — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Swedish: petrokemisk — of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
  • Finnish: petrokemikaali — any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
  • Irish: peitriceimiceán — any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
  • Māori: matūkōhinu — any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
  • Māori: matūngahinu — any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
  • Swahili: petrokemikali — any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
  • Swedish: petrokemikalie — any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
Real reading context

petrochemical in complete knowledge articles