Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

hysteresis

play
noun hys·ter·e·sis \ ˌhi-stə-ˈrē-səs \

Definition of hysteresis

plural hystereses play \ˌhi-stə-ˈrē-ˌsēz\
physics :a retardation of an effect when the forces acting upon a body are changed (as if from viscosity or internal friction)
  • all manometers must be tested for hysteresis as well as for sensitivity and natural frequency
  • —H. D. Green
; especially :a lagging in the values of resulting magnetization in a magnetic material (such as iron) due to a changing magnetizing force
—

hysteretic

play \ˌhi-stə-ˈre-tik\ adjective

From the M-W Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-59c52d6ee2f72
Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'
image1644821030
These Are Fighting Words
young-plant-shoots
Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Origin and Etymology of hysteresis

New Latin, from Greek hysterēsis shortcoming, from hysterein to be late, fall short, from hysteros later — more at out

Other Physics Terms

amplitude, centrifugal, centripetal, convection, gradient, kinetic, lase, quantum

Medical Dictionary

hysteresis

play
noun hys·ter·e·sis \ ˌhis-tə-ˈrē-səs \

medical Definition of hysteresis

plural hystereses play \-ˌsēz\
1 :the lagging of a physical effect on a body behind its cause (as behind changed forces and conditions)
  • all manometers must be tested for hysteresis as well as for sensitivity and natural frequency
  • —H. D. Green
2 a :the influence of the previous history or treatment of a body on its subsequent response to a given force or changed condition
  • a study has been made of the phenomenon of rennet hysteresis, in which the time of coagulation of heated milk is progressively greater with increase in the time interval between heating and addition of rennet
  • —J. S. Fruton
b :the changed response of a body that results from this influence

Learn More about hysteresis

  1. Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hysteresis

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up hysteresis? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

toothsome

play

agreeable, attractive, or delicious

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. dotage, dotard a state or period of senile decay

  2. otherwise "in other respects"

  3. federalism Graham says bill gives power to states

  4. bodega "Don’t mess with the beloved bodega."

  5. carceral Of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

hysteresis

Test Your Vocabulary

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

  • young-plant-shoots
  • Which of the following is a new sense of the word bunny?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59c52d6ee2f72
Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

The word's origins are quite literal

alt-59c4207ecf106
Let's Talk 'Tea'

Spill it, sip it: just make it hot.

image1644821030
8 Words and Phrases from Boxing and Wrestling

Common terms that come from boxing and wrestling

alt-59c2960017c94
The Ambiguity of Pushing 'Up' and 'Back'

When you push a meeting, where does it go?

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

young-plant-shoots
Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

You're going to have to memorize the dictionary again.

Take the quiz
stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

No tricks, just difficult words.

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game