equilibrium
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See also: Equilibrium
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- æquilibrium (dated)
Etymology[edit]
From Latin aequilībrium, from equal + lībra (“balance”).[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɛkwɪˈlɪbɹɪəm/, /iːkwɪˈlɪbɹɪəm/[1]
Noun[edit]
equilibrium (plural equilibriums or equilibria)
- The condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced, resulting in no net change.
- 1733, Philip Miller, “HYDROSTATICKS”, in The Gardeners Dictionary: […], volume I, 2nd edition, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […], OCLC 429215710, column 1:
- To Hydroſtaticks belong whatever relates to the Gravities and Equilibria of Liquors; with the Art of weighing Bodies in Water, in order to eſtimate the ſpecifick Gravities.
- 1999, The Matrix, Agent Smith speech
- Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus.
- Mental balance.
- (chemistry) The state of a reaction in which the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are the same.
- (physics) The state of a body at rest or in uniform motion in which the resultant of all forces on it is zero.
Synonyms[edit]
- (a condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced): balance, stability
- (mental balance): sanity
Antonyms[edit]
- (a condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced): disequilibrium, imbalance, instability
- (in physics): disequilibrium, non-equilibrium
- (mental balance): insanity, instability, madness
Hypernyms[edit]
- (in physics): stasis
Hyponyms[edit]
- (in physics): heat death (thermodynamic equilibrium state of maximum entropy)
Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from equilibrium
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced — See also translations at balance
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physics: state of a body at rest or in uniform motion in which the resultant of all forces on it is zero
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chemistry: state of a reaction in which the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are the same
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mental balance
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References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “equilibrium” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.]