Meaning & use
greenware
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Meaning
noununcountabletechnical
unfired pottery or clay objects that are still soft and have not been baked in a kiln
Grammar: Uncountable: some greenware, a piece of greenware. Not used with 'a' or plural.
Patterns
- a piece of greenware
- fire greenware
- greenware stage
Handle the greenware carefully; it breaks easily before firing.
The potter left the greenware to dry completely before putting it in the kiln.
You can carve designs into greenware while it is still soft.
Common combinations
- piece of greenware
- She sold a piece of greenware at the craft fair.
- fire greenware
- You must fire greenware slowly to avoid cracks.
- greenware stage
- At the greenware stage, the clay is still damp.
- paint greenware
- Some artists paint greenware before the first firing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unfired clay
- Unfired clay is a general term; greenware specifically refers to shaped objects ready for firing.
- raw clay
- Raw clay is clay that has not been worked; greenware has been formed into a shape.
Opposites
Word family
- green adjective
- In ceramics, 'green' means unripe or unfired, as in greenware.
Commonly confused: greenware or greenware?
greenware vs greenware
No common confusion, but learners might mistake it for environmentally friendly products; in pottery it means unfired clay.
Practice
Before it is fired in a kiln, pottery is called ______.
Choose one answer.
Greenware is the term for unfired pottery. Bisque is pottery that has been fired once; glaze is a coating applied later.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “greenware”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.