crystalline

adjective

crys·​tal·​line ˈkri-stə-lən 

 also  -ˌlīn,

-ˌlēn

1

: resembling crystal: such as

a

: strikingly clear or sparkling

crystalline air

a crystalline lake

b

: clear-cut

2

: made of crystal : composed of crystals

3

: constituting or relating to a crystal

crystallinity

ˌkri-stə-ˈli-nə-tē 

noun

Synonyms

• clear
• crystal
• crystal clear
• limpid
• liquid
• lucent
• pellucid
• see-through
• transparent

Examples of crystalline in a Sentence

we could see fish swimming beneath the crystalline ice of the frozen lake

Recent Examples on the Web

One of the sadder ironies of the third chapter is how sharp and crystalline the images look, and how worn down the characters appear by comparison. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 2 May 2025

Once the epitaxy process is done, the substrate and everything on it are soaked in a chemical solution that dissolves this intermediate layer, leaving the crystalline film intact. —ArsTechnica, 1 May 2025

Plunging into the crystalline waters of eastern Indonesia, scuba divers followed a steep slope hundreds of feet down. —Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2025

And those surfaces are already alien, consisting of a crust of heavy atomic nuclei squeezed into a crystalline lattice with electrons free to swim among them. —Paul Sutter, Space.com, 28 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cristallin, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin crystallinus, borrowed from Greek krystállinos, from krýstallos "clear ice, crystal entry 1" + -inos -ine entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing crystalline

• crystalline lens

Rhymes for crystalline

• acridine
• alkaline
• andesine
• anodyne
• anticline
• arginine
• asinine
• atropine
• benzidine
• borderline
• byzantine
• calamine

Kids Definition

crystalline

adjective

crys·​tal·​line ˈkris-tə-lən 

1

: clear or sparkling like crystal

crystalline drops of honey

2

: made of crystal or crystals

3

: of or relating to a crystal

Medical Definition

crystalline

adjective

crys·​tal·​line

ˈkris-tə-lən also -ˌlīn, -ˌlēn

1

: composed of or resembling crystals

2

a

: formed by crystallization : having regular arrangement of the atoms in a space lattice see amorphous sense 2

b

: having the internal structure though not necessarily the external form of a crystal

granite is only crystalline, while quartz crystal is perfectly crystallized

crystallinity

ˌkris-tə-ˈlin-ət-ē 

noun

plural crystallinities