pyrolysis

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UK/paɪˈɹɒlɪsɪs/UK/pɪˈɹɒlɪsɪs/US/paɪˈɹɑləsɪs/Australia/pɑɪˈɹɔlɪsɪs/

noun

The decomposition of a material or compound by heat, in the absence of oxygen or other reagents.

UncommonScrabble 17

Meanings

nounpyrolysis (countable and uncountable, plural pyrolyses)

plural pyrolyses

  1. countablephysicaluncountablechemistryThe decomposition of a material or compound by heat, in the absence of oxygen or other reagents.

    Twenty years ago our real understanding of the mechanism of alkane pyrolyses was little better than rudimentary.

    1980, J. H. Purnell, “Homogeneous Alkane Cracking”, in William Pryor, editor, Frontiers of Free Radical Chemistry: The route to quantitative description to very high conversion, page 94
    3 more examples

    Techniques that have successfully identified ionic intermediates in solution have been applied to gas-phase pyrolyses.

    1972, A. C. Knipe, “Chapter 4: Elimination Reactions”, in B. Capon, C. W. Rees, editors, Organic Reaction Mechanisms 1971, page 143

    Pyrolysis involves the thermal degradation of the rubber of the tyre to give an oil and gas leaving a residual solid carbon and the steel casing of the tyre.

    2001, P. T. Williams, R. P. Bottrill, A. J. Brindle, A. M. Cunliffe, “The potential of pyrolysis for recycling used tyres”, in Ravindra K. Dhir, Mukesh C. Limbachiya, Kevin A. Paine, editors, Recycling and Reuse of Used Tyres: Proceedings of the International Symposium, page 187

    Traditional pyrolysis of wood relies on low temperatures and long processing time to increase the charcoal yield. In contrast, modern or fast pyrolysis uses moderate temperatures (400-500°C) and very short residence times (typically only a few seconds) to maximize the production of liquids (Diebold and Bridgewater, 1997).

    2006, John C. F. Walker, Primary Wood Processing: Principles and Practice, 2nd edition, Springer, page 541

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*péh₂wr̥
  2. Proto-Hellenic*pāwər
  3. Ancient Greekπῦρ (pûr)
  4. Latinpyr
  5. Englishpyro-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
  7. Ancient Greekλύω (lúō)
  8. Ancient Greekλῠ́σῐς (lŭ́sĭs)
  9. Englishpyrolysis

From pyro- + -lysis.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque pirolisi
  • pirolisidecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Catalan piròlisi
  • piròlisidecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Chinese Mandarin 熱解 /热解, 熱裂解 /热裂解
  • 熱解 /热解 (rèjiě)decomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
  • 熱裂解 /热裂解 (rèlièjiě)decomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Czech pyrolýza
  • pyrolýzadecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Esperanto pirolizo
  • pirolizodecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Finnish pyrolyysi
  • pyrolyysidecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
French pyrolyse
  • pyrolysedecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
German Pyrolyse
  • Pyrolysedecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Greek πυρόλυση
  • πυρόλυση (pyrólysi)decomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Hungarian pirolízis
  • pirolízisdecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Italian pirolisi
  • pirolisidecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Japanese 熱分解
  • 熱分解 (netsubunkai)decomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Polish piroliza
  • pirolizadecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Portuguese pirólise
  • pirólisedecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Russian пиро́лиз
  • пиро́лиз (piróliz)decomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Spanish pirólisis
  • pirólisisdecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Tagalog apuybilos
  • apuybilosdecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents
Turkish piroliz
  • pirolizdecomposition of a material or compound due to heat where there is no oxygen or other reagents

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with pyrolysis

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Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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