Meanings
nounentropy (countable and uncountable, plural entropies)
plural entropies
- A measure of the disorder present in a system.
- countableuncountableBoltzmann definitionA measure of the disorder directly proportional to the natural logarithm of the number of microstates yielding an equivalent thermodynamic macrostate.
- countableuncountablecomputingShannon entropy
- countableuncountableThe capacity factor for thermal energy that is hidden with respect to temperature.
- countableuncountableThe dispersal of energy; how much energy is spread out in a process, or how widely spread out it becomes, at a specific temperature.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA measure of the amount of energy in a physical system that cannot be used to do work.
Similar
Opposite
More synonyms by meaning
noun(communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome
Similar
informationselective information
Broader
information measure
noun(thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work
Similar
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekτροπή“transformation”
- GermanEntropie
- Englishentropy
First attested in 1867, as the translation of German Entropie, coined in 1865 by Rudolph Clausius in analogy to Energie (“energy”), replacing the root of Ancient Greek ἔργον (érgon, “work”) by Ancient Greek τροπή (tropḗ, “transformation”)).
More words from German, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque entropia
- entropiaterm in thermodynamics
Bengali এনট্রপি
- এনট্রপি (enṭropi)term in thermodynamics
Bulgarian ентро́пия, ентро́пия
- ентро́пия (entrópija)term in thermodynamics
- ентро́пия (entrópija)measure of the amount of information in a signal
- ентро́пия (entrópija)tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Catalan entropia
- entropiaterm in thermodynamics
Chinese Cantonese 熵
- 熵 (soeng¹)term in thermodynamics
Chinese Mandarin 熵, 熵
- 熵 (shāng)term in thermodynamics
- 熵 (shāng)measure of the amount of information in a signal
- 熵 (shāng)tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Czech entropie
- entropieterm in thermodynamics
Danish entropi, entropi
- entropiterm in thermodynamics
- entropitendency of a system to descend into chaos
Dutch entropie
- entropieterm in thermodynamics
Esperanto entropio, entropio
- entropioterm in thermodynamics
- entropiomeasure of the amount of information in a signal
Finnish entropia, entropia
- entropiaterm in thermodynamics
- entropiameasure of the amount of information in a signal
- entropiatendency of a system to descend into chaos
French entropie
- entropieterm in thermodynamics
German Entropie, Entropie
- Entropieterm in thermodynamics
- Entropiemeasure of the amount of information in a signal
- Entropietendency of a system to descend into chaos
Greek εντροπία, εντροπία
- εντροπία (entropía)term in thermodynamics
- εντροπία (entropía)measure of the amount of information in a signal
- εντροπία (entropía)tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Icelandic óreiða
- óreiðaterm in thermodynamics
Irish eantrópacht
- eantrópachtterm in thermodynamics
Italian entropia, entropia
- entropiaterm in thermodynamics
- entropiameasure of the amount of information in a signal
- entropiatendency of a system to descend into chaos
Japanese エントロピー, エントロピー
- エントロピー (entoropī)term in thermodynamics
- エントロピー (entoropī)measure of the amount of information in a signal
Korean 엔트로피
- 엔트로피 (enteuropi)term in thermodynamics
Latin entropia, entropia
- entropiaterm in thermodynamics
- entropiatendency of a system to descend into chaos
Māori pūngao ngoikore, kaumingomingo
- pūngao ngoikoreterm in thermodynamics
- kaumingomingoterm in thermodynamics
Persian آنتروپی
- آنتروپیterm in thermodynamics
Polish entropia, entropia
- entropiaterm in thermodynamics
- entropiameasure of the amount of information in a signal
- entropiatendency of a system to descend into chaos
Portuguese entropia, entropia
- entropiaterm in thermodynamics
- entropiameasure of the amount of information in a signal
- entropiatendency of a system to descend into chaos
Romanian entropie, entropie
- entropieterm in thermodynamics
- entropiemeasure of the amount of information in a signal
- entropietendency of a system to descend into chaos
Russian энтропи́я, энтропи́я
- энтропи́я (entropíja)term in thermodynamics
- энтропи́я (entropíja)measure of the amount of information in a signal
- энтропи́я (entropíja)tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Spanish entropía, entropía
- entropíaterm in thermodynamics
- entropíameasure of the amount of information in a signal
- entropíatendency of a system to descend into chaos
Tagalog malikusog
- malikusogterm in thermodynamics
Tamil சிதறம்
- சிதறம் (citaṟam)term in thermodynamics
Thai เอนโทรปี, เอนโทรปี
- เอนโทรปี (een-troo-bpii)term in thermodynamics
- เอนโทรปี (een-troo-bpii)measure of the amount of information in a signal
- เอนโทรปี (een-troo-bpii)tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Turkish entropi
- entropiterm in thermodynamics
Ukrainian ентропі́я, ентропі́я
- ентропі́я (entropíja)term in thermodynamics
- ентропі́я (entropíja)tendency of a system to descend into chaos
Welsh entropi
- entropiterm in thermodynamics
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
entropy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/entropy
MLA
“entropy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/entropy. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “entropy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/entropy.
Source: entropy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.