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

Since dissipative mechanisms cannot be completely eliminated, real processes cannot be reversible.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

The best heat pump uses adiabatic and isothermal processes, since, in theory, there would be no dissipative processes to reduce the heat transfer to the hot reservoir.

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