entropy

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: en=tro=py

CIDE DICTIONARY

entropy, n. [Gr. a turning in; in + a turn, fr. to turn.].

 A certain property of a body, expressed as a measurable quantity, such that when there is no communication of heat the quantity remains constant, but when heat enters or leaves the body the quantity increases or diminishes. If a small amount, h, of heat enters the body when its temperature is t in the thermodynamic scale the entropy of the body is increased by h . The entropy is regarded as measured from some standard temperature and pressure. Sometimes called the thermodynamic function.  [1913 Webster]
"The entropy of the universe tends towards a maximum."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

entropy, n.
1 Physics a measure of the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work.
2 Physics a measure of the disorganization or degradation of the universe.
3 a measure of the rate of transfer of information in a message etc.

Derivative

entropic adj. entropically adv.

Etymology

G Entropie (as EN-(2), Gk trope transformation)

THESAURUS

entropy

EDP, abeyance, aloofness, amorphia, amorphism, amorphousness, anarchy, apathy, bit, blurriness, catalepsy, catatonia, channel, chaos, communication explosion, communication theory, confusion, data retrieval, data storage, deadliness, deathliness, decoding, derangement, diffusion, disarrangement, disarray, disarticulation, discomfiture, discomposure, disconcertedness, discontinuity, discreteness, disharmony, dishevelment, disintegration, disjunction, dislocation, disorder, disorderliness, disorganization, dispersal, dispersion, disproportion, disruption, dissolution, disturbance, dormancy, electronic data processing, encoding, formlessness, fuzziness, haphazardness, haziness, incoherence, inconsistency, indecisiveness, indefiniteness, indeterminateness, indifference, indiscriminateness, indolence, inertia, inertness, information explosion, information theory, inharmonious harmony, irregularity, languor, latency, lotus-eating, messiness, mistiness, most admired disorder, noise, nonadhesion, noncohesion, nonsymmetry, nonuniformity, obscurity, orderlessness, passiveness, passivity, perturbation, promiscuity, promiscuousness, randomness, redundancy, scattering, separateness, shapelessness, signal, stagnancy, stagnation, stasis, suspense, torpor, turbulence, unadherence, unadhesiveness, unclearness, unsymmetry, untenacity, ununiformity, upset, vagueness, vegetation, vis inertiae