entropic

[ en-troh-pik, -trop-ik ]

adjective

1. Thermodynamics. of or relating to entropy, a measure of the thermal energy unavailable for work, or of the constituent randomness, in a process or system:

   At very small scales, the entropic effects become significant, so a more intricate analysis, incorporating thermal fluctuations, is needed in the study of biopolymers.

2. (in data transmission and information theory) of or relating to entropy, a measure of the information lost in a transmitted signal or message:

   In an oral culture, only those thoughts that can be formulated into sayings, proverbs, and other dicta are likely to survive the entropic effects of oral transmission.

3. (in cosmology) relating to or characterized by entropy, a hypothetical tendency for the universe to attain a state of maximum homogeneity:

   As entropy grows, the system loses dynamism, to the point that a perfectly entropic universe would be a smooth and inert field of matter.

4. chaotic; without form or order:

   The opening poem presents an entropic clashing of voice and breath.

   Nature is inherently wild and entropic, and yet we persist in expending energy to force it into submission.

5. relating to or characterized by a doctrine of inevitable social decline and degeneration:

   Response to the rioting was harsh, shoring up state control and warding off the outbreak of further social unrest, that is, the entropic degradation of the system.

Other Words From

• en·tro·pi·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of entropic¹

entrop(y) ( def ) + -ic

Example Sentences

Under Trump, abetted by his acolytes in Congress, the founders’ fears of majority tyranny have given way to a new reality of minority tyranny in which a small band of strident true believers aligned with Trump has effectively and persistently run government into an entropic state of dysfunctional misrule.

From Salon

Under Trump, the founders’ fears of majority tyranny have given way to a new reality of minority tyranny in which a small band of strident true believers has effectively run government into an entropic state of dysfunctional misrule.

From Salon

It’s the combined entropic social muck deposited by civil servants, PTA members, senators, trade unionists, professors and other irritating middle-class intellectuals who perpetrate the going concern we know as modern democracy.

From Los Angeles Times

On the microscopic scale, entropic effects play a crucial role for particle movement.

From Science Daily

In recent media interviews, he’s derided the community moderators behind the protests as “landed gentry,” appeared to lie about his negotiations with third-party vendors, praised Elon Musk’s entropic Twitter reign, and struck a combative tone with tech journalists over the site’s mass subreddit blackouts.

From Slate