elemental Hear it!

elemental Definition

el·emen·tal (el′ə ment'l)

adjective

  1. of any or all of the four elements
  2. of or like natural forces; characteristic of the physical universe
  3. basic and powerful; not subtle or refined; primal hunger and sex are elemental drives
  4. elementary (sense )
  5. being an essential or basic part or parts
  6. being a chemical element in uncombined form

Etymology: ME < ML elementalis

noun

a basic principle; rudiment: usually used in pl.

elemental Related Forms

el′·emen·tally adverb

elemental Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • attribution: The elemental attributions of the four surrounding cards will depend on the system used.
  • sulfur: The question of the presence of elemental sulfur in coal is addressed.
  • mercury: The proponents of transgenic phytoremediation argued that mercury emissions from the treated sites would be below the current emission levels for elemental mercury.
  • composition: However, none has ever been done in detail on elemental composition.
  • analyzer: A Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometer with elemental analyzer is held in the department.
  • abundance: Next, specify further parameters such as the elemental abundances and instrumental spectral resolution and then calculate and plot the spectrum.

Modifying Another Word

  • very: So we went back to a very elemental side of Placebo.
  • almost: Jimi Goodwin and the Williams brothers make music with a huge heart, and play it with almost elemental power.
  • yet: It's the symbolic representation of a myth, a graphic depiction of something utterly abstract yet elemental.