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# viscosity

noun (viscosity, uncountable; viscosities in science)

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

## Everyday

1. (science) How thick and sticky a liquid is, and how slowly it flows. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/viscosity/#m1)
2. (science) How strongly a liquid or gas resists flowing; a high viscosity means it flows slowly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/viscosity/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons you compare liquids: honey, treacle and syrup have a high viscosity and pour slowly; water and juice have a low viscosity and pour quickly. Heating usually lowers the viscosity of a liquid, so warm honey runs faster. A common experiment is timing a marble falling through different liquids. Phrases: "high viscosity", "low viscosity", "measure the viscosity".

### Examples

- Honey has a higher viscosity than water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/viscosity/#x1)
- We tested the viscosity of oil, syrup and water by timing how fast they ran down a slope. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/viscosity/#x2)
- Warm syrup has a lower viscosity, so it pours more easily. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/viscosity/#x3)
- Ketchup has a high viscosity, so it is hard to get out of the bottle. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/viscosity/#x4)
- Engine oil must have the right viscosity to work well. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/viscosity/#x5)
- The marble sank slowly because the liquid had a high viscosity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/viscosity/#x6)

### Note

Mostly uncountable. Adjective: viscous (thick and sticky). Trap: viscosity is not the same as density; oil is less dense than water (it floats) but has a higher viscosity (it flows more slowly). In a results table, a longer time to flow means higher viscosity.

## On Mova

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