Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The process of liquefying.
  • noun The state of being liquefied.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act or process of liquefying, or of rendering or becoming liquid; reduction to a liquid state.
  • noun The state of being liquefied or melted.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act or operation of making or becoming liquid; especially, the conversion of a solid into a liquid by the sole agency of heat.
  • noun The state of being liquid.
  • noun (Chem. Physics) The act, process, or method, of reducing a gas or vapor to a liquid by means of cold or pressure.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Process of, or state of having been, made liquid.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the conversion of a solid or a gas into a liquid

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English liquefaccion, from Old French liquefacion, from Late Latin liquefactiō, liquefactiōn-, from Latin liquefactus, past participle of liquefacere, to make liquid; see liquefy.]

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Examples

  • "It is extremely difficult to get around owing to what they call 'liquefaction' of the ground and sink holes."

    Eyewitness account of New Zealand earthquake 2011

  • Along the Rose Canyon Fault is something scientists called liquefaction, which is when the ground is considered sandy or soft and it acts like gelatin during an earthquake.

    10News.com - Local News 2010

  • Along the Rose Canyon Fault is something scientists called liquefaction, which is when the ground is considered sandy or soft and it acts like gelatin during an earthquake.

    10News.com - Local News 2010

  • Along the Rose Canyon Fault is something scientists called liquefaction, which is when the ground is considered sandy or soft and it acts like gelatin during an earthquake.

    10News.com - Local News 2010

  • Along the Rose Canyon Fault is something scientists called liquefaction, which is when the ground is considered sandy or soft and it acts like gelatin during an earthquake.

    10News.com - Local News 2010

  • Along the Rose Canyon Fault is something scientists called liquefaction, which is when the ground is considered sandy or soft and it acts like gelatin during an earthquake.

    10News.com - Local News 2010

  • Along the Rose Canyon Fault is something scientists called liquefaction, which is when the ground is considered sandy or soft and it acts like gelatin during an earthquake.

    10News.com - Local News 2010

  • Along the Rose Canyon Fault is something scientists called liquefaction, which is when the ground is considered sandy or soft and it acts like gelatin during an earthquake.

    10News.com - Local News 2010

  • Along the Rose Canyon Fault is something scientists called liquefaction, which is when the ground is considered sandy or soft and it acts like gelatin during an earthquake.

    10News.com - Local News 2010

  • Experts said another anticipated fallout from the liquefaction is a decline in Urayasu's property prices.

    Quake Bogs Down a Tokyo Suburb Kana Inagaki 2011

Comments

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  • Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

    Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows

    That liquefaction of her clothes.

    —Herrick, 'Upon Julia's Clothes'

    July 15, 2008

  • Next, when I cast mine eyes and see

    That brave vibration each way free

    O how that glittering taketh me!

    October 26, 2010

  • Earthquake-induced soil liquefaction (liquefaction) is a leading cause of earthquake damage worldwide. Liquefaction is often described in the literature as the phenomena of seismic generation of excess porewater pressures and consequent softening of granular soils. Many regions in the United States have been witness to liquefaction and its consequences, not just those in the west that people associate with earthquake hazards.
    National Academies Press, State of the Art and Practice in the Assessment of Earthquake-Induced Soil Liquefaction and Its Consequences (2016)

    December 27, 2016