Meaning & use
turgidity
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Meanings
noununcountablebiologytechnical
The state of being swollen or firm because of fluid pressure, especially in plant cells.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun: the turgidity of the cells. Do not say 'a turgidity'.
Patterns
- the turgidity of something
The turgidity of the plant cells keeps the leaves standing upright.
When water is lost, the turgidity of the cells decreases and the plant wilts.
Scientists measured the turgidity of the root cells under different conditions.
noununcountableformaldisapproving
A style of writing or speaking that is pompous and needlessly complicated.
Grammar: Also uncountable, often used after 'the': the turgidity of his prose.
Patterns
- the turgidity of something
The turgidity of the report made it hard to understand.
Readers complained about the turgidity of the author's later novels.
She edited the essay to remove its turgidity and make it clearer.
Common combinations
- cell turgidity
- Cell turgidity is essential for keeping plants upright.
- maintain turgidity
- Plants maintain turgidity by taking in water.
- loss of turgidity
- Loss of turgidity causes flowers to droop.
- the turgidity of the prose
- The turgidity of the prose put many readers off.
Synonyms and how they differ
- swelling
- A more general word for any enlargement; turgidity is specifically about fluid pressure in cells or a pompous style.
- pomposity
- Similar for writing style, but pomposity focuses on self-importance, while turgidity emphasizes inflated, wordy language.
Opposites
Word family
- turgid adjective
- Swollen or firm; also used for writing that is pompous.
- turgidly adverb
- In a swollen or pompous manner.
Commonly confused: turgidity or turbidity?
turgidity vs turbidity
Turbidity means cloudiness or muddiness of a liquid, while turgidity means swollen firmness or pompous style.
Practice
In which sentence is 'turgidity' used correctly?
Choose one answer.
Turgidity refers to fluid pressure in cells or a pompous style. Option B correctly uses the biological sense. Option A confuses it with turbidity (cloudiness), option C misuses it for shyness, and option D wrongly applies it to metal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “turgidity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.