chemically

C3H4E1M3I1C3A1L1L1Y4
/ˈkɛm.ɪ.kli/

adverb

Using a chemical reaction, process, or operation.

Less commonScrabble 22

Meanings

chemically1

adverbchemically (comparative more chemically, superlative most chemically)

comparative more chemically · superlative most chemically

  1. According to the principles of chemistry.

    This letter, inscribed in a feminine, but irregular hand, and in some places almost illegible, plainly attesting the state of the mind which had dictated it;—stained, too, here and there, with spots of tears, which chemically acted upon by the ink, assumed a strange and reddish hue […]

    1852, Herman Melville, Pierre; or The Ambiguities
    1 more example

    “This material has a specific hardness and is chemically very stable. It forms naturally from calcium alone, but bacteria accelerate the transformation into calcium carbonate,” explains Alejandro Montesinos, head of the Decarbonization, Climate Change, and Circular Economy Research Group at Tec de Monterrey and a member of the Institute of Advanced Materials and Sustainable Manufacturing.

    2024 August 6, Ricardo Treviño, “Self-Healing Concrete Help Buildings Seal Themselves”, in TecScience, archived from the original on 19 Jan 2025

chemically2

adjectivechemically (comparative more chemically, superlative most chemically)

comparative more chemically · superlative most chemically

  1. colloquialReminiscent of chemicals.

    It starts out as kind of a chemically taste, sharp and irritating, but then there's another taste underneath, like some kind of plant, maybe . . . flowers?

    2013, E. E. "Doc" Murdock, My Vietnam War (page 250)

Origin

chemically · adverb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰew-
  2. Ancient Greekχῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă)
  3. Ancient Greekχυμείᾱ (khumeíā)
  4. Arabicالْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ)
  5. Medieval Latinalchēmia
  6. Ancient Greekχυμείᾱ (khumeíā)influ.
  7. New Latinchēmia
  8. New Latinchēmicus
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  11. Englishchemical
  12. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  13. Proto-Germanic*līką
  14. Englishchemically

From chemical + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

chemically · adjective

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰew-
  2. Ancient Greekχῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă)
  3. Ancient Greekχυμείᾱ (khumeíā)
  4. Arabicالْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ)
  5. Medieval Latinalchēmia
  6. Ancient Greekχυμείᾱ (khumeíā)influ.
  7. New Latinchēmia
  8. New Latinchēmicus
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  11. Englishchemical
  12. Englishchemically

From chemical + -y.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan químicament
  • químicamentusing a chemical reaction, process or operation
Czech chemicky
  • chemickyusing a chemical reaction, process or operation
Italian chimicamente
  • chimicamenteusing a chemical reaction, process or operation
Portuguese quimicamente
  • quimicamenteusing a chemical reaction, process or operation
Russian хими́чески
  • хими́чески (ximíčeski)using a chemical reaction, process or operation
Spanish químicamente
  • químicamenteusing a chemical reaction, process or operation
Swedish kemiskt
  • kemisktusing a chemical reaction, process or operation
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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