absorbency

IPA/əbˈzɔːbənsi/
KK[əbzˈɔrbənsi]IPA/əbˈzɔːrbənsi/

absorbency — noun

1. how well a material soaks liquid in and keeps it inside instead of letting it st

1.nounC1
Definition

how well a material soaks liquid in and keeps it inside instead of letting it stay on the surface

Example

The diaper's absorbency kept Tariro's baby dry through the long bus ride.

the absorbency of [material] as sentence subject

Salma compared the towels by testing their absorbency after one wash.

test absorbency

Common collocations
  • high absorbency
  • good absorbency
  • absorbency of [diaper / towel / paper / cloth / soil]
  • test absorbency
Synonyms
  • water absorption

    more technical; often used in testing or product specifications

  • soaking power

    less formal and more common in product talk than in dictionaries

  • porosity

    focuses on tiny openings in a material, not directly on how much liquid it holds

Antonyms
  • water resistance

    focuses on keeping liquid out instead of taking it in

  • repellency

    describes a surface that makes water roll off rather than soak in

Grammar Patterns

the absorbency of [material]

high absorbency

test absorbency

Usage Note

Usually used for materials such as diapers, paper towels, cloth, pads, and soil. It often appears when people compare how much liquid something can take in, rather than discussing scientific light or chemical absorption.

Common Mistakes

This towel has good absorption.
This towel has good absorbency.
absorbency names the material's soaking quality; absorption more often names the process or a technical measurement.
These pads have strong absorbencies.
These pads have high absorbency.
absorbency is usually uncountable.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Absorbency names the liquid-holding quality of a material such as a diaper, towel, or paper pad. Absorption is broader and more technical: it often describes the process of taking something in, and it is also used in science for light, sound, or chemicals. Absorbent is the adjective for a thing that soaks liquid up, while absorbency is the noun for that quality. Porosity focuses on the structure of a material and its tiny openings, so something can be porous without holding liquid especially well. A paper towel may be absorbent and have high absorbency, while a brick may be porous but not ideal for wiping a spill.

absorbency ↗absorption ↗absorbent ↗porosity ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • high absorbency
  • good absorbency
  • test the absorbency of [something]
  • improve absorbency

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Absorbency was formed in English from absorbent and the noun-forming ending -ency. The family goes back to the Latin verb absorbere, meaning 'to swallow up'. In modern English, absorbency names the quality of taking liquid in and holding it.

First known use

1703

1703, in the meaning defined at sense 1