How to Use hydrophobic in a Sentence

hydrophobic

adjective
  • Kids were told the term for the sand is hydrophobic sand.
    Linda Gandee/special To Cleveland.com, cleveland.com, 17 July 2017
  • Because the water–food coloring mixture avoids the Sharpie’s hydrophobic ink, the droplets would follow the contours of the tracks.
    Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, 11 Mar. 2015
  • The lenses bring in a great amount of light to work well in dim conditions and are even hydrophobic to repel moisture and keep images clear.
    Will Palmer, Popular Mechanics, 8 Oct. 2020
  • Steep slopes and an imminent monsoon mean the hydrophobic ground is ripe for erosion.
    AZCentral.com, 28 June 2021
  • And fire scorches the ground, turning it hydrophobic, meaning the soil can't absorb any water.
    AZCentral.com, 28 June 2021
  • Some anglers prefer a hydrophobic powder to keep their flies afloat.
    Matthew Every, Field & Stream, 16 Sep. 2020
  • Some of the amino acids are hydrophobic (water-fearing), and some are hydrophilic (water-loving).
    Alice Chi Phung, Discover Magazine, 8 Mar. 2016
  • My favorite piece was a white table coated in a hydrophobic substance on which Troemel poured a bottle of green Gatorade and a bottle of yellow Gatorade.
    Adrian Chen, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2017
  • For starters, there’s the synthetic fiber, called olefin, that spans the sole; it’s hydrophobic and thus promotes incredibly fast wicking.
    Ariella Gintzler, Outside Online, 27 May 2022
  • Designed for everyday use, this strap is resistant to water, sweat and spills, thanks to hydrophobic leather, and the lugs and buckle are made from stainless steel.
    Ellen McAlpine, CNN Underscored, 13 Aug. 2020
  • Elastic bands at the ankle and midfoot keep the sock in place, while Drymax’s hydrophobic dual-layer fabric removes sweat to keep your dogs dry.
    Graham Averill, Outside Online, 10 Nov. 2020
  • The cactuses have taken to the burn scar unlike trees in replanting efforts elsewhere in the state because the soil didn't become hydrophobic, or glass-like, after the fire.
    Zayna Syed, The Arizona Republic, 5 June 2022
  • This causes the outside layer of the mask to be hydrophobic, which prevents it from absorbing water if it's worn in the rain or while exercising.
    Zoe Malin, NBC News, 31 July 2020
  • The lecithin from egg yolks creates a barrier between the tar and the turtle's digestive tract when its hydrophobic side binds to the tar while its hydrophilic side faces the outside, reports Live Science.
    Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Feb. 2021
  • The beetle’s wings are studded with hydrophilic bumps that collect water droplets, and hydrophobic channels that funnel water droplets into the bug’s mouth.
    Jeffery Delviscio, Scientific American, 21 Dec. 2022
  • Delta fabric is engineered with a mix of hydrophobic and hydrophilic yarns to speed sweat evaporation.
    Joe Lindsey, Outside Online, 1 June 2021
  • In short, three-layer masks are the best, with hydrophobic material on the outside and hydrophilic materials on the inside.
    Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2020
  • His team recently found that simple criteria—like how small and hydrophobic the molecules are—can forecast which chemicals give off a smell in the first place.
    Abigail Tucker, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Sep. 2022
  • This fungal disease can produce mushrooms, and both green and hydrophobic (extremely dry) rings.
    oregonlive, 21 Aug. 2021
  • This PFC-Free eco-friendly treatment is applied in a patented process to create a super hydrophobic finish that never washes or wears off.
    Sami Emory, Outside Online, 27 Mar. 2018
  • Heavy rains can essentially separate the upper layers of the soil from the hydrophobic layer below.
    Kendra Pierre-Louis, The Atlantic, 29 Mar. 2022
  • They're also polarized to reduce glare and treated with a hydrophobic coating.
    Adrienne So, WIRED, 5 July 2019
  • To capture the heat, the team built out a stack of water channels, separated by porous hydrophobic membranes and heat conduction layers.
    David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 11 July 2019
  • Burn scars from wildfires in the region are the greatest areas of concern for flash flooding -- after a fire incinerates a swath of land, the ground left behind is hydrophobic, acting more like concrete than a sponge.
    Hannah Gard and Monica Garrett, CNN, 19 July 2021
  • The Glorieta features Polartec Delta fabric, which uses hydrophobic and hydrophilic yarns to dissipate sweat and body heat.
    Lydia Tanner, Outside Online, 27 May 2022
  • The panels of hydrophobic Xpel mesh kept drying time to a minimum after frequent stream crossings, and the chunky lugs provided excellent grip on soft terrain.
    Lydia Tanner, Outside Online, 27 May 2022
  • Montisano told the Times that the setup of the monkeys’ enclosure — surrounded by a moat to keep the hydrophobic primates in and a low fence to keep curious zoo visitors out — is common but may need to be altered.
    Tom Steele, Dallas News, 25 May 2021
  • The hydrophobic environment of the cell membrane though is full of other molecules in between the phospholipids that do various things.
    Gabriel A. Silva, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022
  • The three-layer jacket is spun from a waterproof but breathable membrane that's lighter and softer-feeling than other hydrophobic fabrics.
    Matt Jancer, Wired, 17 Dec. 2019
  • Each layer contains fatty lipids with two significant regions: the hydrophobic tail, which resists water, and the hydrophilic head, which plays nice with water.
    Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, 7 Nov. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hydrophobic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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