ALKALI (alkalies)

Pronunciation (US):

• ALKALI (noun)
  The noun ALKALI has 2 senses:

1. any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water
2. a mixture of soluble salts found in arid soils and some bodies of water; detrimental to agriculture

  Familiarity information: ALKALI used as a noun is rare.

• ALKALI (noun)

Meaning:

Any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

alkali; base

Context example:

bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia

Hypernyms ("alkali" is a kind of...):

chemical compound; compound ((chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "alkali"):

pyridine (a toxic colorless flammable liquid organic base with a disagreeable odor; usually derived from coal)

purine (a colorless crystalline organic base containing nitrogen; the parent compound of various biologically important substances)

purine (any of several bases that are derivatives of purine)

glyoxaline; imidazole; iminazole (an organic base C3H4N2; a histamine inhibitor)

cyanuramide; melamine (a white crystalline organic base; used mainly in making melamine resins)

pyrimidine (any of several basic compounds derived from pyrimidine)

Meaning:

A mixture of soluble salts found in arid soils and some bodies of water; detrimental to agriculture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("alkali" is a kind of...):

salt (a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal))