semipermeability

Meaning

1. 1noununcountabletechnicalbiologychemistry

   The property of a material or membrane that lets only certain substances pass through it while blocking others.

   Grammar: Uncountable: the semipermeability of a membrane. Do not use it with 'a' or in the plural.

   Patterns

   • the semipermeability of a membrane
   • the semipermeability of the cell wall

   The semipermeability of the cell membrane allows water to pass but keeps large molecules inside.

   Researchers studied the semipermeability of the artificial skin to see which ions could cross it.

   Semipermeability is what makes osmosis possible in living cells.

Common combinations

the semipermeability of a membrane

The semipermeability of a membrane controls which particles enter the cell.

exhibit semipermeability

Certain synthetic films exhibit semipermeability under the right conditions.

a membrane with semipermeability

They used a membrane with semipermeability to separate the two solutions.

Synonyms and how they differ

selective permeability

A more common term in biology for the same idea, often emphasizing that the membrane chooses which substances pass.

partial permeability

A plainer phrase meaning the same thing, used when you want to avoid technical vocabulary.

Opposites

Word family

semipermeable adjective

Describing a material that lets only some substances pass through.

permeability noun

The general quality of allowing liquids or gases to pass through.

permeable adjective

Allowing liquids or gases to pass through.

Commonly confused: semipermeability or impermeability?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “semipermeability”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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