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litmus test
litmus test
1. A chemical test used to determine acidity or alkalinity in a solution. The students performed a litmus test in class to learn whether the chemical solution was an acid or a base.
2. A test used to determine someone's true intentions or beliefs. I used his reaction to my favorite movie as a litmus test to determine if he was worth dating.
litmus test
1. Lit. a test used to determine the acidity or alkalinity of chemical substances. (Acid turns litmus paper red and alkaline compounds turn it blue.) I used a litmus test to show that the compound was slightly acid.
2. Fig. a question or experiment that seeks to determine the state of one important factor. His performance on the long exam served as a litmus test to determine whether he would go to college. The amount of white cells in my blood became the litmus test for diagnosing my disease.
Common Names:
Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
Atlas | | AT-ləs (English) | Greek Mythology |
Nikifor | | - | Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian |
Tanzi | | TAN-zee | English (Rare) |
Elinor | | EL-ə-nawr | English |
Yong | | yong (Korean) | Chinese, Korean |
Martino | | mahr-TEE-no | Italian |