View synonyms for inorganic

inorganic

[ in-awr-gan-ik ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

not having the structure or organization characteristic of living bodies.
not characterized by vital processes.
Chemistry. noting or pertaining to compounds that are not hydrocarbons or their derivatives. Compare organic ( def 1 ).
not fundamental or related; extraneous.

inorganic

/ ˌɪnɔːˈɡænɪk /

not having the structure or characteristics of living organisms; not organic
See organic
relating to or denoting chemical compounds that do not contain carbon Compare organic
not having a system, structure, or ordered relation of parts; amorphous
not resulting from or produced by growth; artificial
linguistics denoting or relating to a sound or letter introduced into the pronunciation or spelling of a word at some point in its history

inorganic

/ ĭn′ôr-găn′ĭk /

Not involving organisms or the products of their life processes.
Relating to chemical compounds that occur mainly outside of living or once living organisms, such as those in rocks, minerals, and ceramics. Most inorganic compounds lack carbon, such as salt (NaCl) and ammonia (NH 3 ); a few, such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), do contain it, but never attached to hydrogen atoms as in hydrocarbons. Inorganic molecules tend to have a relatively small number of atoms as compared with organic molecules.

First recorded in 1785–95; in- ³ + organic

Table showing the quantity of inorganic matters in 100 parts of different plants dried at 212°.

These actions, operating through a long series of years, are the source of the inorganic constituents of all soils.

While the constants of a large number of organic bases194 have been determined few constants of inorganic bases are as yet known.

Such is not always the case, for some bacteria seem to be able to build up protein out of simple inorganic nitrogenous substances.

Mineral matters are inorganic, being chlorides, carbonates or phosphates of calcium, sodium and potassium.

April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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