Meaning & use
capacitive
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalphysics
Relating to or using capacitance, the ability of a component to store electric charge, or working by detecting changes in it.
Grammar: Comes before the noun: a capacitive sensor. It is not normally used after a verb.
Patterns
- capacitive touchscreen
- capacitive sensor
Most phones have a capacitive screen that responds to your fingertip.
The capacitive sensor detects when a hand comes close.
In a capacitive circuit, the current leads the voltage.
Common combinations
- capacitive touchscreen
- A capacitive touchscreen will not respond to a plastic stylus.
- capacitive sensor
- The capacitive sensor turns the lamp on when touched.
- capacitive coupling
- Capacitive coupling can carry noise between wires.
- capacitive load
- The motor drives a capacitive load.
- capacitive reactance
- Capacitive reactance falls as frequency rises.
Synonyms and how they differ
- capacitor-based
- Capacitor-based describes a device built around a capacitor, whereas capacitive describes a property or principle of operation.
- electrostatic
- Electrostatic is broader and covers all static electricity, not just the charge-storage behavior that capacitive refers to.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: capacitive or capacitor?
capacitive vs capacitor
A capacitor is the component itself. Capacitive describes something related to or using capacitance, such as a screen.
Practice
Why does a capacitive touchscreen respond to a bare finger but not to most gloves?
Choose one answer.
A capacitive screen detects changes in its electric field caused by a conductive finger. Pressure, heat and sound are not how it works, and ordinary gloves block the charge.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “capacitive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.