viscosity

noun

vis·cos·i·ty vi-ˈskä-sə-tē

plural viscosities

Synonyms of viscosity next

: the quality or state of being viscous : a sticky or glutinous consistency

technical : the property of resistance to flow in any material with fluid properties

… water has a small but measurable viscosity, or "stickiness," which results from the weak mutual attraction of water molecules.—

Hans Christian von Baeyer

: the mathematical ratio of the tangential frictional force per unit area to the velocity gradient perpendicular to the direction of flow of a liquid

called also coefficient of viscosity

Examples of viscosity in a Sentence

conducted an experiment to determine the viscosity of motor oil

Recent Examples on the Web Blood and saline solution have very different viscosities, meaning they are absorbed at different rates. —

Joanna Thompson, Scientific American, 22 Aug. 2023 Glucosamine helps in the formation and repair of cartilage, while chondroitin supports joint fluid viscosity, reducing joint strain and pain. —

Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 7 Aug. 2023 The character’s surfaces are constantly moving: faces of flame flicker and crackle with the grace of a watercolor painting; bubbles float and churn and pop through the bodies of the watery folk, held together with a tenuous viscosity. —

Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2023 As the bottle empties, the viscosity decreases because there is less and less ketchup to push. —

Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2022 The amount of silica determines the lava’s viscosity. —

Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 4 July 2022 The secret sauce is an improved drag grease that exhibits a low viscosity at rest but becomes more viscous immediately after drag start up. —

Pete Robins, Field & Stream, 3 May 2023 Perhaps the oldest and most prominent of these equations, formulated by Leonhard Euler more than 250 years ago, describe the flow of an ideal, incompressible fluid: a fluid with no viscosity, or internal friction, that cannot be forced into a smaller volume. —

Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 16 Nov. 2022 To help avoid this, Cuberg mixes in additional chemicals (one of them is an organic chemical called an ether) to lower the viscosity and improve the stability. —

John Timmer, Ars Technica, 21 July 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'viscosity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.