dissipative

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

That analysis revealed that the pathway used by nature ranks among the least dissipative options, meaning it requires less energy than most alternatives.

From Science Daily • Jan. 6, 2026

Irreversible processes involve dissipative factors, such as friction and turbulence.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Consider that dissipative mechanisms are one cause of irreversibility.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Erasing a bit of memory, another operation that is frequently used in computing, is also fundamentally dissipative; when we erase a bit, we lose all information about that bit's previous state.

From Scientific American • Jun. 1, 2011

There always exist dissipative forces which tend to destroy the vibratory motion, one cause of the subsidence of the motion being the communication of energy to surrounding bodies.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2 "Ehud" to "Electroscope" by Various