aliphatic

A1L1I1P3H4A1T1I1C3
/ælɪˈfætɪk/

adjective

Of a class of organic compounds in which the carbon atoms are arranged in an open chain.

Similar
acyclicopen-chain
OriginAncient Greek ἄλειφαρ →
Less commonScrabble 16
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adjectivealiphatic (not comparable)
  1. not comparablechemistryOf a class of organic compounds in which the carbon atoms are arranged in an open chain.
nounaliphatic (plural aliphatics)

plural aliphatics

  1. A compound of this type.
  2. in pluralA petroleum fraction containing no aromatic compounds

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivehaving carbon atoms linked in open chains

Similar
acyclicopen-chain
Also see
acyclicopen-chain

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἄλειφαρ“oil, ointment”
  2. Englishaliphatic

From oblique stem of Ancient Greek ἄλειφαρ (áleiphar, “oil, ointment”) + -ic.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian мастен, алифатен
  • мастен (masten)organic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
  • алифатен (alifaten)organic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Catalan alifàtic
  • alifàticorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Chinese Cantonese 脂肪族的
  • 脂肪族的 (zi¹ fong¹ zuk⁶ dik¹)organic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Chinese Mandarin 脂肪族的
  • 脂肪族的 (zhīfángzú de)organic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Czech alifatický
  • alifatickýorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Finnish alifaattinen, avoketjuinen
  • alifaattinenorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
  • avoketjuinenorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
French aliphatique
  • aliphatiqueorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
German aliphatisch
  • aliphatischorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Greek αλειφατικός
  • αλειφατικός (aleifatikós)organic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Hungarian alifás
  • alifásorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Irish alafatach
  • alafatachorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Italian alifatico
  • alifaticoorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Japanese 脂肪族の
  • 脂肪族の (shibōzoku no)organic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Korean 지방족의
  • 지방족의 (jibangjog-ui)organic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Polish alifatyczny
  • alifatycznyorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Portuguese alifático
  • alifáticoorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Romanian alifatic
  • alifaticorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Russian алифати́ческий
  • алифати́ческий (alifatíčeskij)organic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Spanish alifático
  • alifáticoorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Swedish alifatisk
  • alifatiskorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Tagalog malatabain
  • malatabainorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Turkish alifatik
  • alifatikorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Welsh aliffatig
  • aliffatigorganic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain
Cite this entry
APA

aliphatic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aliphatic

MLA

“aliphatic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aliphatic. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aliphatic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aliphatic.

Source: aliphatic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.