Word.ws English Dictionary

propellent

propellent is the alternative spelling of propellant.

Meaning of propellant

Noun

propellant (countable and uncountable, plural propellants)

  1. fuel, oxidizer, reaction mass or mixture for one or more engines (especially internal combustion engines or jet engines) that is carried within a vehicle prior to use
    Synonyms:
    prop
  2. the compressed gas in a pressurised container (especially an aerosol can) that is used to expel its content
    • Then they backed the membrane with a gel matrix containing a perfluorocarbon (PFC) propellant and fluorescent "nanobullets" about a micron wide, and hit it with ultrasound.2016 January 14, Jessica Hall, “Nanoengineers build 'microcannons' that fire light-up bullets filled with drugs”, in ExtremeTech
  3. the explosive (cordite, gunpowder, etc) found in ammunition cartridges

Adjective

propellent (comparative more propellent, superlative most propellent)

  1. Capable of propelling.
    • and directed the abstraction of blood for its removal, after which the pains became more propellent, […]1845, The Lancet snippet only
    • whereas if more propellent force is required, an explosive lower in the table should be selected.1915, Leonard Metcalf, Harrison Prescott Eddy, American Sewerage Practice, page 137

Forms of propellent

Noun
pluralpropellents
Adjective
comparativemore propellent
superlativemost propellent

Origin of propellent

From propel + -ent; originally from Latin prōpellēnt-, from prōpellēns, from prōpellō. Less common than propellant despite being more correct from an etymological viewpoint.

Words formed from propellent

Questions about propellent

What does propellent mean?
Propellent means capable of propelling.
What is propellent the alternative spelling of?
Propellent is the alternative spelling of propellant.
What part of speech is propellent?
Propellent is an adjective.

Words near propellent in the dictionary

  1. propellanes
  2. propellant
  3. propellantless
  4. propellants
  5. propelled
  6. propellent
  7. propellentless
  8. propellents
  9. propeller
  10. propeller beanie
  11. propeller beanies

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: propellent (page history and authors); propellant (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “propellent.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/propellent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.