liq´uid|ness

liq|uid «LIHK wihd», noun, adjective.

–n.

1. any substance that is not a solid or a gas; substance that flows freely like water. Liquids and gases are classed together as fluids. Mercury is a liquid at room temperature. A liquid is composed of molecules that move freely over each other so that a mass has the shape of its container, like a gas, but, unlike a gas, it has a definite volume.

2. Phonetics. the sound of l or r; liquid consonant.

–adj.

1. in the form of a liquid; melted: »

butter heated until it is liquid. Many shampoos are made of liquid soap.

2. flowing or capable of flowing like water.

3. Figurative. clear and bright like water: »

a beautiful young girl with liquid eyes.

4. Figurative. clear and smooth-flowing in sound: »

the liquid notes of a bird. Italian is the most liquid…language that can possibly be imagined (David Hume).

5. Phonetics. a) having the nature of a liquid. b) (of consonants, especially l or n, as in Spanish) palatalized.

6. Figurative. smooth and easy in movement; graceful.

7. Figurative. easily turned into cash: »

liquid assets.

╂[< Latin liquidus < liquēre to be(come) fluid]

–liq´uid|ly, adverb.

–liq´uid|ness, noun.

Synonym Study noun.1 Liquid, fluid mean a substance that flows. Liquid applies only to a substance that is neither a solid nor a gas: »

Milk and oil are liquids; oxygen is not a liquid.

Fluid applies to anything that flows in any way, either a liquid or a gas: »

Milk, water, and oxygen are fluids.