What does "capillarity" mean?

The interaction between the surfaces of a solid and liquid in contact that distorts the normal geometry of the liquid surface; especially the rise or fall of a liquid in a fine tube.

Capillarity

Q: What is a synonym for "capillarity"?

Common synonyms include: capillary action, adduction, affinity, allurement, capillary action, centripetal force.

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
The interaction between the surfaces of a solid and liquid in contact that distorts the normal geometry of the liquid surface; especially the rise or fall of a liquid in a fine tube. countable, uncountable
"Hence the allowance to be made for diminution of the height of a mercurial column, owing to capillarity, is determined by two considerations — the diameter of the tube and versed sine of the corresponding meniscus."
2
a phenomenon associated with surface tension and resulting in the elevation or depression of liquids in capillaries wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

capillary action adduction affinity allurement capillary action centripetal force

Example

More examples

"Hence the allowance to be made for diminution of the height of a mercurial column, owing to capillarity, is determined by two considerations — the diameter of the tube and versed sine of the corresponding meniscus."

Etymology

From French capillarité.

Related phrases

surface tension

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.