— liquidly , adv. — liquidness , n.
/lik"wid/ , adj.
1. composed of molecules that move freely among themselves but do not tend to separate like those of gases; neither gaseous nor solid.
2. of, pertaining to, or consisting of liquids: a liquid diet.
3. flowing like water.
4. clear, transparent, or bright: liquid eyes.
5. (of sounds, tones, etc.) smooth; agreeable; flowing freely: the liquid voice of a trained orator.
6. in cash or readily convertible into cash without significant loss of principal: liquid assets.
7. Phonet. characterizing a frictionless speech sound pronounced with only a partial obstruction of the breath stream and whose utterance can be prolonged as that of a vowel, esp. l and r.
8. (of movements, gestures, etc.) graceful; smooth; free and unconstricted: the ballerina's liquid arabesques.
n.
9. a liquid substance.
10. Phonet. either r or l, and sometimes m, n, ng.
[ 1350-1400; ME liquyd liquidus, equiv. to liqu ( ere ) to be liquid + -idus -ID 4 ]
Syn. 1. LIQUID, FLUID agree in referring to matter that is not solid. LIQUID commonly refers to substances, as water, oil, alcohol, and the like, that are neither solids nor gases: Water ceases to be a liquid when it is frozen or turned to steam. FLUID is applied to anything that flows, whether liquid or gaseous: Pipes can carry fluids from place to place.