Standard Lemma guide

surface-active

adj · 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

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1

adj

Meaning 1

capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid

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

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid; used especially of detergents

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: повърхностно активен (povǎrhnostno aktiven) — capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid
  • Finnish: pinta-aktiivinen — capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid
  • German: grenzflächenaktiv — capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid
  • German: benetzend — capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid
  • Hungarian: felületaktív — capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid
  • Italian: tensioattivo — capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid
  • Romanian: tensioactiv — capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid