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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

absorbent.

Having the ability or tendency to absorb; able to soak up liquid easily; absorptive.

9 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/əbˈsɔː.bn̩t/Received-Pronunciation/əbˈzɔː.bn̩t/Received-Pronunciation/æbˈsɔɹ.bn̩t/US/æbˈzɔɹ.bn̩t/US
  1. Having the ability or tendency to absorb; able to soak up liquid easily; absorptive.

    Those paper towels were amazingly absorbent. That was quite a spill.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin ab- Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *srobʰéyeti Proto-Italic *sorβeō Latin sorbeō Latin absorbeō Proto-Indo-European *-onts Latin -ns Latin absorbēnsder. English absorbent From Latin absorbēns, present active participle of absorbeō (“absorb”). By surface analysis, absorb + -ent.

noun/əbˈsɔː.bn̩t/Received-Pronunciation/əbˈzɔː.bn̩t/Received-Pronunciation/æbˈsɔɹ.bn̩t/US/æbˈzɔɹ.bn̩t/US
  1. Anything which absorbs.

  2. The vessels by which the processes of absorption are carried on, as the lymphatics in animals, the extremities of the roots in plants.

    archaic
  3. Any substance which absorbs and neutralizes acid fluid in the stomach and bowels, as magnesia, chalk, etc.; also a substance, e.g., iodine, which acts on the absorbent vessels so as to reduce enlarged and indurated parts.

  4. A liquid used in the process of separating gases or volatile liquids, in oil refining.

    physical
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin ab- Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *srobʰéyeti Proto-Italic *sorβeō Latin sorbeō Latin absorbeō Proto-Indo-European *-onts Latin -ns Latin absorbēnsder. English absorbent From Latin absorbēns, present active participle of absorbeō (“absorb”). By surface analysis, absorb + -ent.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.