Teflon Meaning
/ˈtɛflɒn/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSynonym of polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE.
nameA brand name of polytetrafluoroethylene (“PTFE”) products, latterly applied to other fluoropolymer products.
Sentence Examples
Teflon griddles are nearly unusable.
You should have bought a Teflon-coated pan.
CEFR Practice Quiz
This non-stick frying pan is coated with ____ so that food does not stick.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new frying pan has a non-stick ____ coating that makes it very easy to clean after we finish cooking our dinner today.
Word Origin & History
Trade name, 1940s. From the first letters of tetra- (“four”) + fluoro- (“fluorine”) + -on modeled after nylon etc. From the fluorine count of polytetrafluoroethylene.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"...tweeting in defiance at all those horrendous scandals that were meant to destroy his campaign. He made teflon look sticky."
— 2016 November 9, James Eagle, Donald Trump: Why is the world so surprised?, retrieved 30 Oct 2017:
"Look at that there fool playing dirty tricks
He must be made of Teflon 'cause nothing ever sticks
Dancing 'round the room while farting in the breeze
Friends huff it down like it's American cheese"
— 2022, “Follow the Fool”, performed by Primus:
"But Ronald Reagan, by everybody's definition, was the Teflon president, and it wasn't that the media tried to touch him and failed."
— 1995, Liz Cunningham, Talking Politics: Choosing the President in the Television Age:
"He would have called the man by his first name and said, Not at all, so and so, but though he was very good at remembering names where clients were concerned, there was something very Teflon about these guys and nothing about them was sticking with him."
— 2010, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, The Godmother's Web, Gypsy Shadow Publishing, →ISBN, page 33:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
This non-stick frying pan is coated with ____ so that food does not stick.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new frying pan has a non-stick ____ coating that makes it very easy to clean after we finish cooking our dinner today.