Library / English Dictionary

AMALGAM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A combination or blend of diverse things

Example:

his theory is an amalgam of earlier ideas

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("amalgam" is a kind of...):

combination (a collection of things that have been combined; an assemblage of separate parts or qualities)

Derivation:

amalgamate (to bring or combine together or with something else)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An alloy of mercury with another metal (usually silver) used by dentists to fill cavities in teeth; except for iron and platinum all metals dissolve in mercury and chemists refer to the resulting mercury mixtures as amalgams

Synonyms:

amalgam; dental amalgam

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("amalgam" is a kind of...):

alloy; metal (a mixture containing two or more metallic elements or metallic and nonmetallic elements usually fused together or dissolving into each other when molten)

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