1
a
: possessing or full of pores
b
: containing vessels
hardwood is porous
2
a
: permeable to fluids
b
: permeable to outside influences
3
: capable of being penetrated
porous national boundaries
porously
adverb
porousness
noun
Examples of porous in a Sentence
The country has a porous border.
a cleaner that should not be used on porous surfaces
Recent Examples on the Web
The art of getting distracted in class was almost entirely analog — writing and passing notes, doodling in notebooks or textbooks, whispering or signaling to friends, throwing pencils up into those porous ceiling tiles.
—
Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2025
The process starts by treating a piece of balsa with bleach and other chemicals to remove portions of the wood and leaving behind porous cellulose.
—Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
In the case of high variations between tests from the same coffee machines, a possible factor could be the way cleaning schedules impact how porous the machine's filters are.
—Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 27 Mar. 2025
There are different materials for chin implants, but the two most common are silicone and porous polyethylene, a synthetic thermoplastic.
—Macey Hall, Allure, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for porous
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Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2025
The process starts by treating a piece of balsa with bleach and other chemicals to remove portions of the wood and leaving behind porous cellulose.
—Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
In the case of high variations between tests from the same coffee machines, a possible factor could be the way cleaning schedules impact how porous the machine's filters are.
—Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 27 Mar. 2025
There are different materials for chin implants, but the two most common are silicone and porous polyethylene, a synthetic thermoplastic.
—Macey Hall, Allure, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for porous
Cite this Entry
“Porous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/porous. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
porous
adjective
po·rous
ˈpōr-əs 
ˈpȯr-
1
: full of pores
2
: capable of absorbing liquids
Medical Definition
porous
adjective
po·rous
ˈpōr-əs, ˈpȯr-
1
: possessing or full of pores
porous bones
2
: permeable to fluids
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