absorbent
part of speech
adjective (absorbent, more absorbent, most absorbent); noun (an absorbent — a material that soaks things up, less common)
meaning for a pupil
1) Absorbent describes a material that can soak up liquid, like a sponge or a paper towel. tree →
2) Something absorbent takes in and holds water or another liquid instead of letting it run off. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons pupils test which materials are absorbent (paper towels, cotton, sponges, cloth) and which are waterproof (plastic, foil, rubber). In everyday life absorbent things are used to dry, clean and protect: towels, nappies, kitchen roll, bandages, cat litter.
examples
- A sponge is very absorbent. tree →
- We tested which paper was the most absorbent. tree →
- Use an absorbent cloth to wipe up the spill. tree →
- Plastic is not absorbent, so water runs off it. tree →
- Towels are made of absorbent cotton. tree →
- Nappies have an absorbent layer inside. tree →
- Kitchen roll is more absorbent than tissue paper. tree →
note
Spelled with -ent (not -ant). Verb: absorb (absorbs, absorbed); noun: absorption (note the p). Opposite: waterproof or non-absorbent. «Absorbent» is not the same as «soluble»: a soluble thing dissolves in water, an absorbent thing soaks water up.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «absorbent» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.