Meaning & use
verticity
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Meaning
noununcountablephysicsarchaic
The tendency of a magnet or freely moving body to turn toward a fixed direction, especially toward the north.
Grammar: No plural or article needed: the verticity of the needle.
Patterns
- the verticity of something
Early scientists wrote about the verticity of the compass needle.
The natural philosopher measured the verticity of the lodestone.
Verticity was once used to explain why magnets point north.
Common combinations
- verticity of the needle
- The verticity of the needle puzzled sailors for centuries.
- magnetic verticity
- He wrote a treatise on magnetic verticity.
- explain the verticity
- No theory could explain the verticity of the stone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- polarity
- Polarity is the modern word for the property of having opposite poles, while verticity is an obsolete term for the turning tendency.
- directivity
- Directivity refers to the ability to point in one direction, mainly in modern technical contexts.
Word family
- vertical adjective
- standing straight up and down
- verticality noun
- the state of being vertical
- vertex noun
- the highest or turning point
Commonly confused: verticity or verticality?
verticity vs verticality
Verticality means being upright; verticity is a rare older term about a magnet's turning tendency.
Practice
In old physics books, 'verticity' most likely refers to ______.
Choose one answer.
Verticity is an archaic term for the way a magnetic needle turns toward the north, not about speed, height or sharpness.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “verticity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.