Definitions

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

  • noun Linguistics The drawing together into one syllable of two consecutive vowels or syllables, as in the formation of a diphthong.
  • noun Chemistry The exudation of the liquid component of a gel, caused or accompanied by a contraction of the gel.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In grammar, the contraction of two syllables or two vowels into one; especially, contraction of two vowels so as to form a diphthong, as ne'er for never, Atreides for Atreïdes.

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

  • noun Same as synæresis.

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

  • noun Alternative spelling of synaeresis.

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

  • noun the contraction of two vowels into a diphthong
  • noun the separation of liquid from a gel that is caused by contraction (as in cheese making)

Etymologies

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

[Late Latin synaeresis, from Greek sunairesis, from sunairein, to contract : sun-, syn- + hairein, to take, grasp.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word syneresis.

Examples

  • But synalepha may occur in combinations of vowels in which syneresis would be impossible.

    Modern Spanish Lyrics 1899

  • However, after a week or so you'll want to make sure to test the consistency, as the hydrocolloids will tend to exhibit some syneresis (leaking of water), so you may need to add bit more xanthan and Ultratex to keep the pudding looking tight on the plate and feeling luscious and not watery in the mouth.

    Eat Foo 2010

  • MEAT - Natural texture, Easier to slice, Improved shelf life, More juicy, Less bursting and syneresis

    FoodNavigator RSS 2009

  • MEAT - Natural texture, Easier to slice, Improved shelf life, More juicy, Less bursting and syneresis

    FoodNavigator RSS 2009

  • Lodging lake tahoe of a semantically skua unwebbed autocratically from a battler in sidesplitting ixobrychus with syneresis of cds that are not extraterritorial in your slickly gerbille at all.

    Rational Review 2009

  • "These were reported to be important in playing a role to prevent emulsion breakdown and to give better flavour release in the mouth as well as to inhibit syneresis,"

    FoodNavigator RSS 2008

  • "These were reported to be important in playing a role to prevent emulsion breakdown and to give better flavour release in the mouth as well as to inhibit syneresis,"

    FoodNavigator RSS 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.