Word.ws English Dictionary

smectic

smectic adjective: cleansing.

Adjective

smectic (not comparable)

  1. (rare) Cleansing.
  2. (rare) Astringent; detergent.
  3. Whose molecules are aligned in layers, with the molecules lying perpendicular to the plane of the layers.
    • The smectic phases, which are found at lower temperatures than the nematic, form well-defined layers that can slide over one another in a manner similar to that of soap.[…]There are many different smectic phases, all characterized by different types and degrees of positional and orientational...
    • Before studying the fluctuations and defects of the bilayers in the smectic phase, one should first characterize the equilibrium structure of the simulated lamellar phase.2005, Claire Loison, Numerical Simulations of a Smectic Lamellar Phase of Amphiphilic Molecules, Cuvillier Verlag, page 31

Noun

smectic (plural smectics)

  1. A liquid crystal having the molecules aligned in this way; a phase of a liquid crystal in which the molecules are so aligned.

Forms of smectic

pluralsmectics

Origin of smectic

From Latin smecticus, from Ancient Greek σμηκτικός (smēktikós), from σμήχειν (smḗkhein, “to wipe, to cleanse”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”).

Words formed from smectic

Words that rhyme with smectic

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about smectic

What does smectic mean?
Smectic means cleansing.
What part of speech is smectic?
Smectic can be an adjective or a noun.

Words near smectic in the dictionary

  1. smeb
  2. smebbed
  3. smebbing
  4. smebs
  5. smeck
  6. smectic
  7. smecticity
  8. smectics
  9. smectite
  10. smectites
  11. smectitic

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: smectic (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.

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