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Showing results for rarefaction. Search instead for rarefactio.
Definitions

rarefaction

[rair-uh-fak-shuhn] / ˌrɛər əˈfæk ʃən /




NOUN
vacuum
Synonyms
Antonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In untreated fish, one of the most striking signs of kidney decline was the gradual loss of capillaries, a process known as vascular rarefaction.

From Science Daily • Jan. 30, 2026

The results from both of these null models were qualitatively consistent, so we only report findings using the equiprobable rows, fixed columns model, as it is more consistent with rarefaction of the observation tables.

From Nature • Oct. 31, 2017

Whether the heat transfer from compression to rarefaction is significant depends on how far apart they are—that is, it depends on wavelength.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

This is how noise-canceling headphones work—they produce a sound wave that resembles the wave responsible for the unwanted sound, but with the original phases of rarefaction and compression flipped.

From Scientific American • Dec. 12, 2013

Both the air and the vapor contained in it, being thus relieved of much atmospheric pressure, expand suddenly, and are cooled by rarefaction.

From Principles of Geology or, The Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants Considered as Illustrative of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir