What does dialytically mean?
"Dialytically" is a technical adverb meaning "by means of dialysis" — the laboratory process of separating dissolved substances by letting them diffuse through a semipermeable membrane. When a chemist says a solution was dialytically purified or dialytically desalted, they mean the separation was achieved by this diffusive filtering method rather than by distillation, filtration, or centrifugation. The word derives from the Greek "dialysis," meaning a loosening or dissolution, the same root behind "electrolysis" and "paralysis." It belongs firmly to formal scientific register: you will encounter it almost exclusively in biochemistry papers and laboratory protocols, typically describing the treatment of proteins, enzymes, or other macromolecules from which unwanted salts or small molecules must be removed. Because it is so narrowly used, it offers little figurative application, but it remains precise and useful within its domain, conveying both the method and its selective, gentle character.
adverbIn a manner relating to dialysis, especially the chemical separation of substances in solution by diffusion through a membrane; by means of, or in the manner of, dialysis.
- In a way that involves dialysis: separating dissolved substances by allowing them to diffuse through a semipermeable membrane.
"The protein sample was dialytically purified to remove excess salts before crystallization."
"The enzyme solution was dialytically desalted overnight against distilled water."
"The mixture can be dialytically fractionated so that small ions pass into the surrounding bath while larger molecules are retained."
Dialytically is one of those vanishingly rare scientific adverbs you may never hear spoken aloud — it lives almost entirely in laboratory methods sections.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dialytically
"Dialytically" derives from "dialytic," the adjective form of "dialysis," plus the adverbial suffix "-ly." The ultimate root is Greek "dialysis," from "dialyein," meaning to loosen, dissolve, or separate apart, formed from "dia-" (through, apart) and "lyein" (to loosen) — the same root found in "electrolysis" and "paralysis." English adopted "dialysis" in the 16th century in a general sense of separation or dissolution, and it acquired its specific chemical sense of membrane-diffusion separation in the 19th century as analytical chemistry developed.
Related word forms
How dialytically is actually used
A rare, technical term confined almost entirely to chemistry, biochemistry, and related laboratory literature. It appears chiefly in formal written descriptions of experimental procedures rather than in everyday speech, where speakers would more naturally say "by dialysis" or "using dialysis."
Easily confused with dialytically
"Dialectically" concerns logical argument through opposing ideas (or regional dialects), while "dialytically" concerns separation of dissolved substances by diffusion through a membrane.