hermetically

adverb

her·​met·​i·​cal·​ly (ˌ)hər-ˈme-ti-k(ə-)lē 

: in an airtight manner : so as to be completely airtight

—usually used in the phrase hermetically sealed

They have their digitally alarmed, healthfully air-conditioned, hermetically sealed knotty-pine wine cellars …

—Alan Richman

Designed for field use, the unit has a hermetically sealed touch keypad with six widely spaced keys suited for gloved operation.

—Oil & Gas Journal

… the entire manufacturing process takes place inside "clean rooms"—hermetically sealed factories where elaborate filtration systems keep the air a thousand times purer than in the best hospital operating rooms.

—Michael Rothschild

(figurative) … creating a world so self-absorbed, so hermetically sealed, that its connection to public life is severed altogether …

—Ella Taylor

(figurative) Control was always Jobs' approach to achieving excellence—Apple's beautiful, hermetically sealed ecosystem of products is the quintessence of control …

—Lev Grossman

Examples of hermetically in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The way that the class system and the hierarchy seems like it was hermetically sealed on the trading floor was something that actually in London can be extrapolated out into media or social members clubs or politics. —Jason Parham, WIRED, 30 Aug. 2024

Bound is conceived hermetically (and might be the basis for a psychoanalysis of the Wachowski siblings, who both underwent gender transition — from Andy and Larry to Lilly and Lana). —Armond White, National Review, 31 July 2024

But this is different: Biden has operated in a protective bubble, often hermetically sealed from tough questioning. —Axios, 11 July 2024

In practice, however, hermetically sealing a country off on short notice and for an extended period of time is nearly impossible. —Kelley Lee, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing hermetically

• hermetically sealed