hydrophobic
adjective
hy·dro·pho·bic
| \ ˌhī-drə-ˈfō-bik
\
\
Definition of hydrophobic
1
: of, relating to, or suffering from hydrophobia
2
: lacking affinity for water
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Other Words from hydrophobic
hydrophobicity
\ ˌhī-drə-fō-ˈbi-sə-tē
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of hydrophobic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To capture the heat, the team built out a stack of water channels, separated by porous hydrophobic membranes and heat conduction layers. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Solar Panels Could Make Saltwater Safe for Farming," 11 July 2019 They're also polarized to reduce glare and treated with a hydrophobic coating. — Adrienne So, WIRED, "The Best Sunglasses for Every Outdoor Occasion," 5 July 2019 Get our daily newsletter His latest surface, though, which is even more hydrophobic than the previous ones, goes back to tinkering not with the pockets’ contents, but with the surface’s geometry. — The Economist, "How to make a better raincoat with tiny “water bowls”," 4 July 2019 An undulating tail similar to the gecko's might help with the latter issue and strengthen forward propulsion, while coating the robot with a hydrophobic material similar to the gecko's skin structure could significantly reduce drag. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Geckos’ new superpower is running on water; now we know how they do it," 6 Dec. 2018 My dream toothbrush is coated in a nontoxic version of Rustoleum's Neverwet, the magically hydrophobic coating that makes water jump off surfaces. — Rachel Z. Arndt, Popular Mechanics, "The Quest for the Best Electric Toothbrush," 13 Nov. 2017 The rubberized, two-position nosepiece made fit adjustments easy, and the hydrophobic temple pieces provided grip. — Aaron Gulley, Outside Online, "8 New Riding Sunglasses for Summer," 13 June 2018 Ironically, light-moderate rain won’t penetrate a deep mulch volcano, and worse, fungal mycelium decomposing the mulch can create hydrophobic mats that repel water. — Ellen Nibali, baltimoresun.com, "Garden Q&A: Mulch volcanoes are not what nature intended," 12 Apr. 2018 This PFC-Free eco-friendly treatment is applied in a patented process to create a super hydrophobic finish that never washes or wears off. — Sami Emory, Outside Online, "Embrace the Rain," 27 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hydrophobic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for hydrophobic
hydrophobic
adjective
hy·dro·pho·bic
| \ -ˈfō-bik
\
\
Medical Definition of hydrophobic
1
: of, relating to, or suffering from hydrophobia
2
: resistant to or avoiding wetting
a hydrophobic lens
3
: of, relating to, or having a lack of affinity for water
hydrophobic colloids are relatively unstable
— compare lyophobic, oleophobic
Other Words from hydrophobic
hydrophobically
\ -bi-k(ə-)lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
hydrophobicity
\ -ˌfō-ˈbis-ət-ē
\
noun,
plural hydrophobicities
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noun,
plural hydrophobicities