Advertisement

devitrify

[ dee-vi-truh-fahy ]

verb (used with object)

, de·vit·ri·fied, de·vit·ri·fy·ing.
  1. Chemistry. to deprive, wholly or partly, of vitreous character or properties.


verb (used without object)

, de·vit·ri·fied, de·vit·ri·fy·ing.
  1. Petrology. (of a volcanic rock or particle) to undergo a change in texture from glassy to crystalline.

devitrify

/ diːˈvɪtrɪˌfaɪ /

verb

  1. to change from a vitreous state to a crystalline state
  2. to lose or cause to lose the properties of a glass and become brittle and opaque
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


Discover More

Derived Forms

  • deˌvitrifiˈcation, noun
Discover More

Other Words From

  • de·vitri·fia·ble adjective
  • de·vitri·fi·cation noun
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of devitrify1

First recorded in 1825–35; de- + vitrify
Discover More

Example Sentences

Poor glass, badly prepared window-glass, and glass which has been subjected to strain tend to devitrify on exposure to air, some of the ingredients separating in a crystalline form.

Good glass does not readily devitrify when held in the blow-pipe flame.

Bad soda-glass or that which has been kept for many years, tends to devitrify when worked.

Long-buried glassy lavas devitrify, or pass to a stony condition, under the unceasing action of underground waters; but their flow lines and perlitic and spherulitic structures remain to tell of their original state.

If either of these precautions are neglected most glass will devitrify badly.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


devitalizeDevizes