starch

²starch

noun

Definition of STARCH

1

: a white odorless tasteless granular or powdery complex carbohydrate (C₆H₁₀O₅)_x that is the chief storage form of carbohydrate in plants, is an important foodstuff, and is used also in adhesives and sizes, in laundering, and in pharmacy and medicine

2

: a stiff formal manner : formality

3

: resolute vigor

Examples of STARCH

1. <a middle-aged woman who has retained the starch of youth>

First Known Use of STARCH

15th century

Related to STARCH

Synonyms: beans, bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go, ginger, go, gusto, hardihood, juice, life, moxie, oomph, pep, punch, sap, snap, vigor, verve, vim, vinegar, vitality, zing, zip

Antonyms: lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness, torpidity

Related Words: animal spirits, animation, briskness, jauntiness, liveliness, snappiness, spirit, spiritedness, sprightliness, spunk, spunkiness, vibrance, vibrancy, vivaciousness, vivacity; ardor, élan, fervor, fire, passion, zeal; main, metal, mettle, might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, stamina, strength; brawniness, fitness, hardiness, huskiness, sturdiness, virility; health, healthiness, soundness, verdure, wellness

Near Antonyms: indolence, laziness; debilitation, debility, delicacy, disablement, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, impotency, infirmity, powerlessness, puniness, slightness, softness, tenderness, weakness; enervation, exhaustion, inanition, prostration

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Other Chemical Engineering Terms

alkali, cation, decant, hygroscopic, isotope, oxidize, slurry, solute, viscous