rarefaction

American  

[rair-uh-fak-shuhn] / ˌrɛər əˈfæk ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of rarefying.

2. the state of being rarefied. rarefy.

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rarefaction British  

/ ˌrɛərɪfɪˈkeɪʃən, ˌrɛərɪˈfækʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of making less dense or the state of being less dense

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rarefaction Scientific  

/ râr′ə-făk′shən /

1. A decrease in density and pressure in a medium, such as air, especially when caused by the passage of a wave, such as a sound wave.

2. The region in which this occurs.

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Other Word Forms

• rarefactional adjective
• rarefactive adjective

Etymology

Origin of rarefaction

1595–1605; < Medieval Latin rārēfactiōn- (stem of rārēfactiō ), equivalent to Latin rārēfact ( us ) (past participle of rārēfacere; rarefy ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Caries-related parameters included root canal fillings, apical rarefactions and caries lesions.

From Science Daily

In reaching these heights of fancy, however, the movie achieves, to use one of Glaisher’s own words, “rarefaction.”

From The New Yorker

To investigate how mean tag sequence prevalence changes with increasing sequencing depth across environments, we calculated the average mean tag sequence prevalence across three replicate rarefactions.

From Nature

Here is art that turns confectionery into both rarefaction and panache.

From New York Times

The compressions and rarefactions are rapidly transmitted through the air from the original source as a  wave, making sound.

From Scientific American

Related Words

• gap
• void