paramagnetic

adjective

para·​mag·​net·​ic ˌper-ə-mag-ˈne-tik 

ˌpa-rə-

: being or relating to a magnetizable substance (such as aluminum) that has small but positive susceptibility which varies little with magnetizing force

paramagnetically

ˌper-ə-mag-ˈne-ti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌpa-rə-

adverb

paramagnetism

ˌper-ə-ˈmag-nə-ˌti-zəm 

ˌpa-rə-

noun

Examples of paramagnetic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Early in her novel, a woman is frozen to death with a chemical refrigerant made of paramagnetic salts: a Lot’s wife for the Information Age. —Ian Wang, New York Times, 7 Nov. 2023

Worker honeybees navigate using rings of paramagnetic iron oxide in their abdomens that swell or shrink depending on outside magnetic changes, allowing the insects to find their way home by following changes in the Earth’s magnetic fields. —Molly Loomis, Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2014

Lipids are also not ferromagnetic, but can be paramagnetic if certain specific conditions are met. —Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 23 June 2021

This sort of behavior is very similar to the behavior of, for instance, the orientation of magnetic spins during a paramagnetic phase transition. —Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 16 Jan. 2018

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

paramagnetic

adjective

para·​mag·​net·​ic ˌpar-ə-mag-ˈnet-ik 

: being or relating to a magnetizable substance (as aluminum) that has a small but positive susceptibility which varies little with magnetizing force

paramagnetism

-ˈmag-nə-ˌtiz-əm 

noun