Phrase guide

van der Waals force

noun · 1 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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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The relatively weak attraction between neutral atoms and molecules arising from polarization induced in each particle by the presence of other particles.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: in-plural, often

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From van der Waals + force. From Dutch van der Waals. from Johannes Diderik van der Waals, who first described them.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 范德瓦耳斯力 (fàndéwǎ'ěrsīlì) — weak attraction
  • Chinese Mandarin: 范德華力 /范德华力 (fàndéhuálì) — weak attraction
  • Dutch: van der Waalskracht — weak attraction
  • Finnish: van der Waalsin voima — weak attraction
  • Polish: oddziaływanie van der Waalsa — weak attraction
  • Portuguese: força de van der Waals — weak attraction
  • Portuguese: atração de van der Waals — weak attraction
  • Swedish: van der Waalskraft — weak attraction