amalgam Hear it!

amalgam Definition

amal·gam (ə mal′gəm)

noun

  1. any alloy of mercury with another metal or other metals silver amalgam is used as a dental filling
  2. a combination or mixture; blend

Etymology: ME < ML amalgama, prob. via Ar < Gr malagma, an emollient < malassein, to soften: for IE base see mill

amalgam Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • style: The town itself was a strange amalgam of styles.
  • group: The favorite dishes are an amalgam of the various ethnic groups who settled here.
  • people: The story was created as an amalgam of various people, places and stories known to the trainer.

Converse of object

  • represent: The analysis of data herein represents an amalgam of data sources.
  • create: Some us choose our regional roots, others our religious roots, others create an amalgam by merging cultures.
  • become: The Scheme must not become an indistinct amalgam of action and as a result each diversity area will be clearly identifiable within the Scheme.
  • use: Dentists have used amalgam to fill cavities since the 1800s.
  • make: I came back to the inn, asked for some large empty bottles, and made the amalgam.
  • have: There isn't much about the promised 802.11 security infrastructure in chapter six: instead we have another amalgam of security problems.

Adjective modifier

  • dental: A current cause for concern is the emission of mercury from dental amalgams.
  • strange: The town itself was a strange amalgam of styles.
  • complex: The heritage Criteria of nations in Bloom judging is a complex amalgam of built, natural, cultural and social dimensions of a community.
  • unique: SANTA CRUZ METRO The sisters ' music is a unique amalgam of influences.
  • curious: A curious amalgam of images crystallized on a translucent screen.
  • bizarre: A bizarre amalgam of modernist esthetics and Gothic might, the cathedral is still unfinished, with the completion date rumored to be 2020.

Modifies a noun

  • filling: Over 90 % of the mercury stored in human tissue is from amalgam fillings.
  • restoration: The lower right 6 had a large amalgam restoration, indicating the start of a periapical infection.
  • removal: Four of the visits are used for the amalgam removal with 10 days between visits.
  • waste: Care should be taken when amalgam waste that has contacted human body fluids is handled.

Noun used with modifier

mercury: Here's Health Magazine carried out a campaign on the adverse effects of mercury amalgam some years ago.