abiotic

[ ey-bahy-ot-ik, ab-ee- ]

adjective

1. of or characterized by the absence of life or living organisms.

abiotic

/ ā′bī-ŏt′ĭk /

1. Not associated with or derived from living organisms. Abiotic factors in an environment include such items as sunlight, temperature, wind patterns, and precipitation.
2. Compare biotic

Other Words From

• a·bi·ot·i·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of abiotic¹

a- ⁶ + biotic

Example Sentences

The results show that biotic interactions can have a strong influence on plants' ability to adapt to abiotic factors and that adaptation is most efficient when plants are exposed to a variety of interactions.

From Science Daily

Specifically, they cite several questions that existing laws leave unaddressed -- including issues of atmospheric and abiotic contamination -- which constitute important gaps in planetary policy that must be confronted, collaboratively.

From Science Daily

"But few studies have examined biotic impacts, such as pathogen infection, on thermal tolerance in natural populations in combination with abiotic factors," she explained.

From Science Daily

“This is the first sign of an abiotic source,” says Nora Hänni, a chemist at the University of Bern who presented the discovery last week at the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union.

From Science Magazine

This new AI technique works by recognizing patterns across the composition of various samples and categorizing them as living or nonliving based on what it "knows" about patterns of biotic or abiotic objects.

From Salon