molten
Americanverb
adjective
-
liquefied by heat; in a state of fusion; melted.
molten lead.
-
produced by melting and casting.
a molten image.
adjective
-
liquefied; melted
molten lead
-
made by having been melted
molten casts
verb
Other Word Forms
- moltenly adverb
- supermolten adjective
- unmolten adjective
Etymology
Origin of molten
1250–1300; Middle English; old past participle of melt 1
Explanation
Molten describes an object that's reduced to liquid form by heating. You're probably familiar with lava, the molten rock that explodes out of a volcano. Molten originated from the Old English verb meltian, meaning "become liquid." It takes incredibly high temperatures to get an object that was once rock solid to be transformed into a liquid state. Something much safer than lava has made the term molten popular — molten chocolate cake. This cake has a center that's filled with hot, gooey pudding-like chocolate that oozes out. This is probably the only molten thing you'd ever want to touch.
Vocabulary lists containing molten
Earth Science - Middle School
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Rocks and Minerals - Introductory
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Earth Science - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The confession results in confusion and anger erupting like molten lava from all sides, instantly corroding Emma’s bond with Charlie and her relationships with their friends.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
Natural gas is used by glass manufacturers to run their furnaces, which melt sand, soda ash, limestone and recycled glass into molten glass blobs which are then shaped into bottles.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
Extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, as they are known, shoot lasers into molten tin to create EUV light, which doesn’t exist naturally on earth.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026
Known as a mantle plume, this steady column of molten rock originates far below the surface.
From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026
The dusk sky looked molten, as if it might explode in the west.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
