Meaning & use
cinnabar
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Meanings
noununcountablechemistrytechnical
A heavy red mineral made of mercury and sulfur, the main natural source of mercury.
Grammar: Uncountable: a piece of cinnabar.
Patterns
- a vein of cinnabar
- mine cinnabar
Miners dug cinnabar from the old mountain mine.
Cinnabar is poisonous because it contains mercury.
The museum displays a bright red sample of cinnabar.
noununcountablespecialist
A bright red-orange pigment, once made from the mineral, used in paint and lacquer.
Grammar: Often used for the color or pigment: painted in cinnabar.
Patterns
- cinnabar red
- painted with cinnabar
Ancient artists used cinnabar to color their pottery.
The temple doors were painted with cinnabar.
She chose a cinnabar red for the lacquer box.
adjectivebefore a nounliterary
Describing a bright red-orange color like the mineral.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a cinnabar robe.
Patterns
- cinnabar red
- cinnabar color
He wore a cinnabar robe to the festival.
The cinnabar sunset glowed over the hills.
Her lipstick was a deep cinnabar shade.
Common combinations
- cinnabar mine
- The cinnabar mine closed years ago.
- cinnabar red
- The vase was painted a rich cinnabar red.
- vein of cinnabar
- They discovered a vein of cinnabar in the rock.
- cinnabar pigment
- Cinnabar pigment was very expensive in ancient times.
- sample of cinnabar
- The geologist studied a sample of cinnabar.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vermilion
- Vermilion is the bright red pigment and color, and it can be made from cinnabar, but it is not a mineral name.
- scarlet
- Scarlet is a bright red color without the orange tone and is not tied to a mineral.
- mercury ore
- Mercury ore names any ore that yields mercury, while cinnabar is the specific mineral.
Word family
Commonly confused: cinnabar or cinnamon?
cinnabar vs cinnamon
Cinnamon is a brown spice from bark, and it is unrelated to cinnabar, a red mineral.
Practice
Which substance is the main natural ore of mercury?
Choose one answer.
Cinnabar is a mercury sulfide mineral. Cinnamon is a spice, magnetite is an iron ore, and quartz is a common mineral without mercury.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cinnabar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.