Elemental Meaning
/(ˌ)ɛləˈmɛntəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf, relating to, or being an element (as opposed to a compound).
adjBasic, fundamental or elementary.
Sentence Examples
Is elemental mercury volatile?
Elemental Indium is very soft for a metal.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The earthquake unleashed an ____ force that shattered entire buildings.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Is ____ mercury volatile?
Word Origin & History
From Middle English elementall, from Medieval Latin elementālis; compare Old French elementel. By surface analysis, element + -al.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Those who have escaped the dark and terrible aspects of life will find my brutality, my flash of rage in our final tragedy, easy enough to blame; for they know what is wrong as well as any, but not what is possible to tortured men. But those who have been under the shadow, who have gone down at last to elemental things, will have a wider charity."
— 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 219:
"The pervasive emptiness and stultifying summer heat were only minor deterrents when compared with the more elemental consideration that all the banking and commercial institutions were based elsewhere, chiefly in Philadelphia and New York."
— 2000, Joseph J. Ellis, Founding Brothers, New York: Vintage Books, pages 79–80:
"Seth is the embodiment of mother-right, warfare, terror, human sacrifice; he is an elemental deity who deals in the fundamental reality of blood."
— 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 216:
"Incidentally, such beings may be said to have an existence of a sort upon the lower astral plane; they are elementals created by man's evil desires and unclean thoughts."
— 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 115:
"This time they got into print, all right. But the much-handled stories, written up with that blend of cautiously defensive frivolity which the press habitually employed to cover themselves in matters regarding sea-serpents, elementals, thought transference, and other irregular phenomena, prevented anyone from realizing that these accomplished plants at all resembled the quiet, respectable weed beside our rubbish heap."
— 1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 39:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The earthquake unleashed an ____ force that shattered entire buildings.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Is ____ mercury volatile?