entropy

Intermediatezipf 3.28

Pronunciation

/ˈɛntrəpi/(EN-truh-pee)

Part of speech

nounphysics / figurative

Chinese

熵；无序度；（比喻）混乱加剧

Definition

A measure of disorder or randomness in a system; in thermodynamics, the tendency of energy to disperse and systems to move toward disorder; figuratively, gradual decline into disorder.

Word family

  • entropic/ɛnˈtrɒpɪk/(adj)熵的

Collocations

  • entropy increases
  • law of entropy
  • high entropy
  • entropy of the universe
  • fight entropy

Examples

  1. 1.The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system can only increase over time. (measure of disorder)
  2. 2.Without constant maintenance, every organisation succumbs to entropy — processes decay, standards slip, and chaos creeps in. (gradual decline into disorder)

Synonyms

  • disorder/dɪsˈɔːrdər/— lack of order
  • chaos/ˈkeɪɒs/— complete disorder
  • randomness— lack of pattern

Etymology

coined by Rudolf Clausius in 1865 — from Greek "entropia" — "en" (in) + "trope" (transformation) — the transformation within a system