Meaning & use
percolation
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
The slow passing of a liquid through small gaps in a material such as soil, rock or coffee grounds.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: the percolation of water through sand.
Patterns
- percolation of something through something
Percolation of rainwater through the soil refills the aquifer.
Sandy ground allows quick percolation.
Slow percolation turned the coffee dark.
noununcountablefigurative
The gradual spread of an idea or influence through a group or system.
Grammar: Figurative: the percolation of new ideas.
Patterns
- percolation of something into something
The percolation of new ideas changed the company over time.
Cultural percolation slowly shaped the town.
He watched the percolation of rumors through the office.
Common combinations
- slow percolation
- Slow percolation purified the water.
- percolation test
- The builder ran a percolation test on the land.
- percolation of water
- Percolation of water through limestone is rapid.
- percolation rate
- The soil has a high percolation rate.
- percolation of ideas
- The percolation of ideas takes years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- seepage
- Seepage emphasizes a leak or slow escape, while percolation stresses passing through a material.
- filtration
- Filtration means removing solids as the liquid passes, whereas percolation just means passing through.
- infiltration
- Infiltration often implies entering from outside, such as water into soil or spies into a group.
- permeation
- Permeation means spreading all through something, so it is wider than percolation.
Opposites
Word family
- percolate verb
- to pass slowly through small holes, or to spread gradually, as news
- percolator noun
- a pot that makes coffee by passing hot water through grounds
- percolating adjective
- slowly passing through
Commonly confused: percolation or perforation?
percolation vs perforation
Perforation is a row of small holes in paper or other material; percolation is the liquid moving through such openings.
Practice
Percolation is the passage of liquid ____ a porous material.
Choose one answer.
Percolation means moving through tiny gaps in a material. The other prepositions do not describe that movement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “percolation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.