Electrolysis

noun

noun ·5 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The chemical change produced by passing an electric current through a conducting solution or a molten salt. countable, uncountable

    "But current leakage in a Tube tunnel can cause electrolysis to occur in steel retaining walls, which in turn causes them to rust; it could also damage the foundations of nearby buildings."

  2. 2
    removing superfluous or unwanted hair by passing an electric current through the hair root wordnet
  3. 3
    The destruction of hair roots by means of an electric current. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    (chemistry) a chemical decomposition reaction produced by passing an electric current through a solution containing ions wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
acetificationacidificationacidulationalkalizationanionbloodless surgery

Example

More examples

"An electrolysis is a passage of direct current through an ion-conducting solution, producing a chemical change at the electrodes."

Etymology

Coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1834 for Michael Faraday. From electro- + -lysis (“a loosening”). Originally of tumors, later (1909) of hair removal.

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