noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A separation process in which a certain quantity of a mixture is divided up into smaller quantities (fractions) in which the composition changes according to a gradient; an instance of this process. countable, uncountable

   "Methane is separated from other hydrocarbons in a gas fractionation plant."

2. 2
   separation into portions wordnet
3. 3
   The division of a total dose of radiation into fractions. countable, uncountable
4. 4
   a process that uses heat to separate a substance into its components wordnet
5. 5
   A preliminary stage of encryption that divides each plaintext symbol into several ciphertext symbols. countable, uncountable

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6. 6
   A form of hypnosis where the patient is made to enter and leave a trance state many times in quick succession. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

atomizationbreakdowndistillationevaporationfractional processfumigation

Example

More examples

"Methane is separated from other hydrocarbons in a gas fractionation plant."

Etymology

By surface analysis, fraction + -ation, or, by surface analysis, fractionate + -ion.

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