rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: -ic
English

-ic

connected with or characteristic of

Forms

  • -ic

Origin

Through French and Latin -icus from Greek -ikos.

Note

It can indicate a field, a material, a resemblance, or a tendency; it has no single literal meaning in every word.

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adjective

exothermic

eks-oh-THUR-mik/ˌeksəʊˈθɜːrmɪk/

Releasing heat during a chemical reaction or physical process.

The hand warmer uses an exothermic reaction to heat your fingers.

A sealed hand-warmer packet is shown with heat arrows moving OUT toward a nearby hand and a rising thermometer cue; exothermic release, no preparation steps.
Etymology
exoGreekoutside
+thermGreekheat
+icEnglishconnected with or characteristic of

“Outside” and “heat” describe heat passing out of a process into its surroundings. The word therefore identifies a release of heat, not simply a process that is hot.

In context

National Academies - Earth and Life Studies55:12
it's a exothermic reaction. So, the the heat that is going to be released here can help the CO2 desorption
The Advances in the Chemistry of CO2 Capture Webinar

More examples

  • Freezing water is exothermic because it releases heat into its surroundings.
  • Burning natural gas is an exothermic process.
  • The mixture gets warmer as the exothermic reaction proceeds.

Forms

exothermic

exothermically adverb — In a way that releases heat.