surfactant

noun

a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved

Roots

superficiessurf- · Latin · surface agereact- · Latin · to act, drive ans-ant · Latin · agent, one that does

Synonyms & related words for surfactant

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of surfactant. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to surfactant

Explore words related to surfactant — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include cosurfactant, nonionic, amphiphile, amphiphilic, zwitterionic, solubilizing, fluorochemical, amphipathic. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does surfactant come from?

The word surfactant breaks down into 3 roots of Latin origin: surf, from Latin superficies (“surface”); act, from Latin agere (“to act, drive”); and -ant, from Latin ans (“agent, one that does”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.