decalescent

Related to decalescent: ambrosial, recalescent

de·ca·les·cence

(dē′kə-lĕs′əns)

A sudden slowing in the rate of temperature increase in a metal being heated, caused by endothermic structural changes and resulting in a darkening of the metal.

[From de- + Latin calēscere, to become warm, inchoative of calēre, to be warm; see kelə- in Indo-European roots.]

de′ca·les′cent adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.

decalescent - absorbing heat without increase in temperature when heated beyond a certain point; "the decalescent point of steel"

endothermal, endothermic, heat-absorbing - (of a chemical reaction or compound) occurring or formed with absorption of heat

References in periodicals archive ?

The book's scene is LA punk and grunge, beginning with the epigraph drawn from Hole's "Asking for It," and spilling into alleyways in which "it's the '80s / and we're all wearing a whole lot of electric pink," the poet "lit by Hollywood in a decalescent dress.