absorbent : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: absorbent	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for absorbent
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
absorbent adj having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up something (liquids or energy etc.); "as absorbent as a sponge" Synonym(s): absorbent, absorptive Antonym(s): nonabsorbent, nonabsorptive n a material having capacity or tendency to absorb another substance Synonym(s): absorbent material, absorbent
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Absorbent \Absorb"ent\, a. [L. absorbens, p. pr. of absorbere.] Absorbing; swallowing; absorptive. {Absorbent* ground} (Paint.), a ground prepared for a picture, chiefly with distemper, or water colors, by which the oil is absorbed, and a brilliancy is imparted to the colors.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Absorbent \Absorb"ent\, n. 1. Anything which absorbs. The ocean, itself a bad absorbent* of heat. --Darwin. 2. (Med.) Any substance which absorbs and neutralizes acid fluid in the stomach and bowels, as magnesia, chalk, etc.; also a substance e. g., iodine) which acts on the absorbent vessels so as to reduce enlarged and indurated parts. 3. pl. (Physiol.) The vessels by which the processes of absorption are carried on, as the lymphatics in animals, the extremities of the roots in plants.