ALKALI

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Irregular inflected form: alkalies

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water

Example:

bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia

Synonyms:

alkali; base

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("alkali" is a kind of...):

chemical compound; compound ((chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "alkali"):

pyridine (a toxic colorless flammable liquid organic base with a disagreeable odor; usually derived from coal)

purine (a colorless crystalline organic base containing nitrogen; the parent compound of various biologically important substances)

purine (any of several bases that are derivatives of purine)

glyoxaline; imidazole; iminazole (an organic base C3H4N2; a histamine inhibitor)

cyanuramide; melamine (a white crystalline organic base; used mainly in making melamine resins)

pyrimidine (any of several basic compounds derived from pyrimidine)

Derivation:

alkalify; alkalize (turn basic and less acidic)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A mixture of soluble salts found in arid soils and some bodies of water; detrimental to agriculture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("alkali" is a kind of...):

salt (a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal))

Derivation:

alkalic (relating to or containing an alkali; having a pH greater than 7)

alkalify (turn basic and less acidic)

Credits

Context examples:

Sea rice that is able to grow in tidal flats or saline-alkali land was developed by crossbreeding different varieties of rice.

(Saltwater Rice Successfully Harvested by Chinese Scientists, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Some alkalis can help the body work the way it should.