Meaning & use
metabolic
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounbiologytechnical
Relating to the chemical processes in a living body that turn food into energy and build or break down substances.
Grammar: Almost always before a noun: metabolic rate, metabolic process.
Patterns
- metabolic rate
- metabolic process
Exercise raises your metabolic rate for hours afterward.
Enzymes drive the metabolic processes inside every cell.
Scientists measured the metabolic activity of the bacteria.
adjectivebefore a nounmedical
Relating to disorders or conditions that arise from a body's chemical processes working incorrectly.
Grammar: Common in health writing: metabolic syndrome, metabolic disorder.
Patterns
- metabolic disorder
- metabolic syndrome
Her doctor tested her for metabolic disorders.
Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of diabetes.
The baby is screened for rare metabolic diseases at birth.
Common combinations
- metabolic rate
- A high metabolic rate burns calories quickly.
- metabolic syndrome
- Metabolic syndrome includes high blood pressure and excess weight.
- metabolic disorder
- A metabolic disorder can affect how the body handles sugar.
- metabolic process
- Digestion is a vital metabolic process.
- metabolic health
- Sleep affects metabolic health.
Synonyms and how they differ
- biochemical
- Biochemical covers any chemistry of living things, while metabolic is limited to the processes that build and break down substances for energy.
- physiological
- Physiological covers all body functions, so metabolic is a narrower subtype.
- digestive
- Digestive covers only the breaking down of food, whereas metabolic includes what cells do with nutrients afterward.
Word family
- metabolism noun
- the chemical processes that keep a body alive
- metabolize verb
- to process a substance chemically in the body
- metabolite noun
- a substance produced by metabolism
- metabolically adverb
- in terms of metabolism
Commonly confused: metabolic or metabolism?
metabolic vs metabolism
Metabolism is the noun for the processes, while metabolic is the adjective: a fast metabolism but a high metabolic rate.
Practice
Which phrase correctly uses the adjective metabolic?
Choose one answer.
Metabolic is an adjective and needs a noun, as in metabolic rate. The noun form for the processes is metabolism.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “metabolic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.