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# precipitant

noun (a precipitant, precipitants); adjective (precipitant — formal, rare)

«precipitant» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (science) A substance that you add to a liquid to make a solid form and come out of it (a precipitate). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/precipitant/#m1)
2. (formal) Something that causes an event to happen suddenly, a trigger: «Stress was the precipitant of the argument.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/precipitant/#m2)
3. (formal, rare adjective) Done too quickly, without thinking; rushed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/precipitant/#m3)

### In the lessons

In chemistry lessons a precipitant is added to a solution so cloudy solid bits appear. In medicine and formal writing it means the trigger of something. In stories it is rare. Phrases: «add a precipitant», «the precipitant of», «a precipitant decision» (rare).

### Examples

- The teacher added a precipitant and the clear liquid went cloudy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/precipitant/#x1)
- Salt can act as a precipitant in some experiments. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/precipitant/#x2)
- The heavy rain was the precipitant of the landslide. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/precipitant/#x3)
- Doctors looked for the precipitant of her asthma attack. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/precipitant/#x4)
- His precipitant decision to quit surprised everyone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/precipitant/#x5)
- A precipitant makes the solid «fall out» of the solution. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/precipitant/#x6)

### Note

Countable noun: a precipitant, precipitants. Related words: precipitate (the solid that forms; also to cause suddenly), precipitation (rain, snow and hail, or forming a solid). Easily confused with «precipitate»; the precipitant is what you add, the precipitate is what forms.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «precipitant» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/precipitant/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«precipitant» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/precipitant.html) on Mova free.