Nonconductors

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Materials that do not allow the flow of electric current
2. substances characterized by their insulative properties and lack of electrical conductivity
3. elements that resist the passage of electricity and are used in insulating applications

Etymology: "Nonconductors" is the plural of "nonconductor," a compound formed from the prefix non- and "conductor." The prefix comes from Old English "nān," meaning "not one" (a contraction of "ne" and "ān," "one"), which passed into Middle English as "non-" and became a productive prefix for negating almost any word. "Conductor" carries the older sense of something that leads or guides, from Latin "conductor," and its electrical use is a later extension of that idea of carrying something along. The compound is therefore a plain negation, built the way English builds countless everyday words: a nonconductor is simply something that is not a conductor. The plural simply applies that label to a group of materials, typically insulators such as rubber, glass, or dry wood, that block the flow of electric current.

Synonyms: insulators, dielectrics, nonmetals, resistors, barriers

Antonyms: conductors, metals, carriers, transmitters, conductive materials