Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of fire.
- adj. Geology Formed by solidification from a molten state. Used of rocks.
- adj. Geology Of or relating to rock so formed; pyrogenic.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Pertaining to, consisting of, having the nature of, or resembling fire: as. igneous particles; igneous appearances.
- Produced through the agency of fire, or as the result of volcanic and eruptive forces: used in geology in contradistinction to aqueous. A rock has an igneous origin when it has been discharged from a volcano; it has an aqueous origin when deposited from water. All aqueous rocks are made up of the debris of igneous ones, with the exception of such as are the result of organic agencies —that is, such as have been formed through the agency of plants or animals. Some rocks, however, are at the same time of both aqueous and igneous origin, as when volcanic ashes are thrown into water, and deposited in a stratified form.
Wiktionary
- adj. Pertaining to, having the nature of fire; containing fire; resembling fire; as, an igneous appearance
- adj. Resulting from, or produced by, the action of great heat; with rocks, it could also mean formed from lava/magma; as, granite and basalt are igneous rocks
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Pertaining to, having the nature of, fire; containing fire; resembling fire.
- adj. Resulting from, or produced by, the action of fire.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. like or suggestive of fire
- adj. produced by the action of fire or intense heat
- adj. produced under conditions involving intense heat
Etymologies
- From Latin igneus, from ignis, fire.
Examples
“They are called "igneous" rocks, from the Latin word”
“No, not as in igneous, granite, marble or quartz, but as in I just spent 5 days in Guadalajara and had a rockin 'good time.”
“When we pass from the agency which geologists term igneous, to aqueous and atmospheric agencies, we see the like ever growing complications of effects.”
“Like all the radioactive clocks used by geologists, potassium/ argon timing works only with so-called igneous rocks.”
“An attentive examination of a metamorphic region shows that here and there the alteration and recrystallisation have proceeded so far that the rocks graduate into granites and other so-called igneous rocks.”
“• Rocks are classified as igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic, according to how they formed.”
“The lone science class I'd been required to take, an introductory geology course, was graded pass/fail, and though I'd passed it (barely), I still wasn't sure what "igneous" meant.”
“They are composed of a kind of igneous rock not found anywhere near Wiltshire.”
Wanderings in Wessex An Exploration of the Southern Realm from Itchen to Otter
“So gradually the Huttonian explanation of the origin of granites and other "igneous" rocks, whether massed or in veins, came to be accepted.”
A History of Science: in Five Volumes. Volume III: Modern development of the physical sciences
“The standard name for "igneous" is 岩浆岩, which translates as "magma rock.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘igneous’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Words with that horrible 'gn' sound
pregnant, interregnum, impregnable, signal, signature, prognosis, ignorant, ignominious, magnum, diagnosis, designation, incognito and 37 more...
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A whooshing of turpentine up my nostrils
Descriptors to use at your next wine-tasting
sawdusty, barnyardy, igneous, graphitic, impolitic, noisome, eldritch, lovecraftian, beanfeastish, spidery, impious, daft and 59 more...

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