Meanings
- not comparablenatural sciencesWithout gain or loss of heat (and thus with no change in entropy, in the quasistatic approximation).
New 2.4 GWh adiabatic compressed air energy storage (CAES) plant now operational in in ^([sic]) Jiangsu province.
2026 January 27, Lynas, Matthew, “World’s largest compressed-air storage plant switched on in China”, in pv magazine2 more examples
The line drawn on the indicator diagram in the latter case has been named by Professor Rankine an Adiabatic line, because it is defined by the condition that heat is not allowed to pass through (διαβαίνειν) the vessel which confines the substance.
1871, James Clerk Maxwell, Theory of Heat, page 129Talk of dynamic compression and adiabatic gradients didn't carry as much weight as the certainty of its conscious intent.
2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, page 737Antonyms: diabatic
- not comparablequantum mechanicsnatural sciencesInvolving the slow change of the Hamiltonian of a system from its initial value to a final value.
In this section we examine the limiting cases when T is very small (sudden change) and very large (adiabatic change).
1961, Albert Messiah, Quantum Mechanics, volume II, page 740Antonyms: nonadiabatic
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveWithout gain or loss of heat (and thus with no change in entropy, in the quasistatic approximation).
adjectiveInvolving the slow change of the Hamiltonian of a system from its initial value to a final value.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveoccurring without loss or gain of heat
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἀδιάβατος“impassable”
- Englishadiabatic
19th-century coinage (introduced by W. J. M. Rankine in the 1860s) based on Ancient Greek ἀδιάβατος (adiábatos, “impassable”), used of terrain (rivers, forests) by Xenophon, from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + διά (diá, “through”) + βατός (batós, “passable”), from βαίνω (baínō, “to go”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque adiabatiko
- adiabatikooccurring without gain or loss of heat
Catalan adiabàtic
- adiabàticoccurring without gain or loss of heat
Chinese Mandarin 絕熱的 /绝热的
- 絕熱的 /绝热的 (juérè de)occurring without gain or loss of heat
Czech adiabatický
- adiabatickýoccurring without gain or loss of heat
Finnish adiabaattinen
- adiabaattinenoccurring without gain or loss of heat
French adiabatique
- adiabatiqueoccurring without gain or loss of heat
German adiabatisch
- adiabatischoccurring without gain or loss of heat
Greek αδιαβατικός
- αδιαβατικός (adiavatikós)occurring without gain or loss of heat
Hindi रुद्धोष्म
- रुद्धोष्म (ruddhoṣma)occurring without gain or loss of heat
Irish aidiabatach
- aidiabatachoccurring without gain or loss of heat
Italian adiabatico
- adiabaticooccurring without gain or loss of heat
Persian آدیاباتیک, بیدررو
- آدیاباتیک (âdiyâbâtik)occurring without gain or loss of heat
- بیدررو (bi-dar-row)occurring without gain or loss of heat
Polish adiabatyczny
- adiabatycznyoccurring without gain or loss of heat
Portuguese adiabático
- adiabáticooccurring without gain or loss of heat
Romanian adiabatic
- adiabaticoccurring without gain or loss of heat
Russian адиабати́ческий
- адиабати́ческий (adiabatíčeskij)occurring without gain or loss of heat
Spanish adiabático
- adiabáticooccurring without gain or loss of heat
Swedish adiabatisk
- adiabatiskoccurring without gain or loss of heat
Tagalog kakaintan
- kakaintanoccurring without gain or loss of heat
Vietnamese đoạn nhiệt
- đoạn nhiệtoccurring without gain or loss of heat
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with adiabatic
Cite this entry
adiabatic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adiabatic
“adiabatic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adiabatic. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “adiabatic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adiabatic.
Source: adiabatic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.