Meaning & use

monatomic

adjective·Advanced

Consisting of a single atom, used especially to describe a molecule or gas.

See it in a sentence

Helium and neon are monatomic gases, unlike oxygen, which exists as two-atom molecules.

The chemist explained why noble gases tend to remain monatomic under normal conditions.

A note on using this word

Monatomic is a specialized chemistry term, most often used when contrasting noble gases with diatomic gases like oxygen or nitrogen.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

diatomicpolyatomic

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