What does porousness mean?
Porousness is the quality of having many small openings, called pores, through which air, water, or other fluids can move. It is especially noticeable in materials such as sponges, soil, wood, and some types of brick, which absorb liquid more readily than solid, nonporous materials. The degree of porousness can affect how a material drains, retains moisture, filters substances, or allows air to circulate. In technical writing, porosity is often preferred when referring to the measurable proportion of space occupied by pores. Porousness remains useful in general contexts because it clearly describes the familiar property of materials that can soak up or pass through liquids and gases.
nounThe quality or state of being porous, especially the degree to which a material contains pores that allow air, water, or other fluids to pass through.
- The state or quality of being porous, with pores that allow air, water, or other fluids to pass through.
"The porousness of the soil allows rainwater to reach the roots of the plants."
"The porousness of the brick makes it particularly effective at absorbing moisture."
"Engineers tested the porousness of the material to determine how quickly water would pass through it."
The regular plural is rare in ordinary use; expressions such as 'degrees of porousness' are more common.
"The study compared the porousnesses of several different building materials."
Porousness is why a sponge soaks up water and why porous soil can hold the moisture that plants need.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does porousness come from?
Porousness was formed in English by adding the suffix -ness to porous, which in turn comes from Latin porus, meaning 'opening' or 'pore.' The related English words pore and porosity share this Latin root. The word entered English through the development of scientific vocabulary describing the structure and permeability of materials.
How porousness is actually used
Porousness is less common than the more technical term porosity in scientific writing, though it is widely understood in general and educational contexts. It can describe materials such as soil, stone, ceramic, and fabric.
Easily confused with porousness
Porosity is the technical measure or property describing the amount of pore space in a material, whereas porousness is the general quality of being porous.