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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

met·a·mor·phism

Audio Help [met-uh-mawr-fiz-uh

m] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	Geology. a change in the structure or constitution of a rock due to natural agencies, as pressure and heat, esp. when the rock becomes harder and more completely crystalline.

2.	Archaic. metamorphosis.

[Origin: 1835–45; meta- + -morphism

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Metamorphism

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

met·a·mor·phism Audio Help (mět'ə-môr'fĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n. The process by which rocks are altered in composition, texture, or internal structure by extreme heat, pressure, and the introduction of new chemical substances.

[metamorph(ic) + -ism.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

metamorphism
noun
change in the structure of rock by natural agencies such as pressure or heat or introduction of new chemical substances

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

metamorphism Audio Help (mět'ə-môr'fĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
The process by which rocks are changed in composition, texture, or structure by extreme heat and pressure. ◇ In prograde metamorphism metamorphic rocks that were formed under low pressure and temperature conditions undergo a second metamorphic event in which they are exposed to higher pressures and temperatures. ◇ In retrograde metamorphism metamorphic rocks that were formed under high pressure and temperature conditions undergo a second metamorphic event in which they are exposed to lower pressures and temperatures. See more at contact metamorphism , regional metamorphism.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Metamorphism

Met`a*mor"phism\, n. (Geol.) The state or quality of being metamorphic; the process by which the material of rock masses has been more or less recrystallized by heat, pressure, etc., as in the change of sedimentary limestone to marble. --Murchison.

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